


Our Beach

by RainbowDonkeys



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: 2jin are iconic i believe, Alternate Universe - High School, Beach Holidays, Cheesy, F/F, Mentioned dead characters, Summer Vacation, diner waitresses 2jinseul, haseul finds confidence, lifeguard vivi, pure fluff, side lipsoul, yeojin is a child
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:47:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 48,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25963108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainbowDonkeys/pseuds/RainbowDonkeys
Summary: When Haseul is forced to spend her summer in her grandmother's beach house, she expects nothing to happen- like usual. But small seaside towns hold more adventure and love than Haseul could have possibly imagined, and maybe she learns more than she ever could have in school.this is a loona 1/3+yeojin centric high school summer viseul au
Relationships: Jeon Heejin/Kim Hyunjin, Jo Haseul/Viian Wong | ViVi
Comments: 187
Kudos: 190





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> When you guys were in middle school, did you ever read those cheesy stories about listless and insecure teenage girls who spend a summer in a small beach town and find best friends, love, and confidence? Yeah idk if im just old but those were like all i read back then. This is an ode to those sort of stories except gayer. Hope you all enjoy!

Being back was strange. 

The last time Haseul had been driving down this highway seemed like another age. It was four years before, at the end of middle school, sitting in the back of her parent's car with twenty one pilots blaring from her ipod to her earbuds, so loud her parents could hear through the tinny metal. With the windows shut and her long, ratty hair down, dressed in cheap leggings and the biggest hoodie she owned. It was that summer between eight grade and high school, the pitfalls of childhood falling far behind with adulthood looming ahead, but any real sense of freedom still far away. An in between time.

Four years later, things, thank god, were different. Haseul chopped her hair into a little bob; it didn't get ratty anymore. She was driving her own car, with all of the windows down, the smell of ocean wafting through the breeze that cooled her down. Fiona Apple blasted through her shitty car speakers, her phone attached to one of those cassette based aux chords. She was still wearing the largest hoodie she owned but tucked into mom jeans that actually looked good on her. And she was still in an in between time: the summer between junior and senior year of high school, the drama of high school falling away and the big void known as college looming ahead. But she still didn't feel like real freedom was any closer than it had been four years ago. 

For the first time in an hour the GPS on her phone spoke instructions, Haseul jolting in her seat. Looking up, she saw exactly what she was looking for: exit 12 to Egret Cove. 

Now, the funniest thing about Egret Cove was that no egrets actually lived anywhere near the town. The egret's natural habitat are wetlands, streams, ponds, tidal flats, etc. Egret Cove was a beach town. But apparently before the area was colonized, there had been an abundance of these sort of small water areas where the egrets lived and played. But once the Native Americans were thrown out, the colonizers had destroyed the natural habitat, and all the egrets left the town for good. The town's name was always Egret Cove, but in the local Native people's language. The white people just translated the name and kept it, without caring about the rest of the story. As white people always did. 

Haseul knew that because that was the first thing any local would say, unprompted, when they found out you didn't live in the area. 

Haseul wasn't local enough to repeat that story, but she'd spent enough time there to know it. Her grandmother and younger cousin lived in Egret Cove, and when Haseul was younger their family used to go up every summer. They hadn't done it since, well, four years ago, but those summers were a memory that always remained in her mind. It was the kind of place that was untouched by tourism and time, still a hidden secret. 

The thing was...she didn't really want to go. 

Despite the fact that she was just a month or two away from being seventeen, Haseul's parents still had no trust in her. It was their twentieth wedding anniversary and to celebrate, they had decided to take a summer long cruise. Haseul had no problem with that, even if it meant them totally missing her birthday. What she _did_ have a problem with was that they had banned her from staying in their house alone during the summer. Instead, they were forcing her to go to her grandmother's, just so she'd stay safe. 

And fuck was Haseul salty about it. It wasn't like she wanted to do anything- Haseul was the first to admit she had zero social life; she wouldn't even want to invite anyone over. In fact, there was no real reason she wanted to be there by herself. She just wanted the peace and quiet. Plus as an only child, the idea of living with her ten year old cousin for a whole summer frightened her. 

But then again, Haseul didn't put up too much of a fight when her parents insisted she go. There wasn't really anything tying her down to her usual town and home anyways: she didn't have friends or a job. So, it was fine...she guessed. 

Finally, her exit came up and with a rapidly beating chest (Haseul was still not all that comfortable driving on the highway), Haseul took her exit.

Being back was strange. But despite everything, it filled Haseul's heart with a sense of peace. 

Now that she was off the highway, every memory of those many summers came flooding back to her. 

The blurriest memories in her mind, of when she was really little. Building sand castle and fake pools, getting ice cream with her grandma, falling asleep on the couch with a 1980's kids movie playing on the old, old TV. 

When she was a little bit older but still deep in childhood, when her little cousin Yeojin was born. Helping out her aunt and uncle with baby chores, teaching her fun games in the sand, falling asleep on the couch with a preschooler movie on the TV and Yeojin in her lap. 

When she was in another in between time, between elementary school and middle school, the same age Yeojin was now. Going to Egret Cove in the dead of winter, not for fun but a funeral. Watching her aunt and uncle lowered into the grave, Yeojin clinging onto her grandmother's leg, not knowing exactly what was going but sure that something was wrong. Haseul remembers seeing little Yeojin crying into her grandmother's shoulder that night, before they went home, asking why nobody would talk to her. Haseul's heart pierced. But even then, she didn't know what she would say to the toddler with dead parents. She still didn't know what she would say, if it happened now, even when she was older. 

And then there were the middle school years, when the bad came creeping up on the years of good. When she would go to the beach in her normal clothes, not daring to venture into the water, terrified of the swimsuit beneath her pants and hoodie. Playing with Yeojin in the sand and watching her laugh uproriously, then cry only minutes later. Grateful for her escape from the pain of her school, her town, but terrified of what would happen when summer was over, and she had to go back. 

And then, they'd stopped going. Life had caught up with them: her parent's work got busier, Haseul herself got busier, their family became less entwined together as they started having separate lives. Until her parents brought it up, she had almost forgotten Egret Cove existed. 

So Egret Cove held bad times, and it held good times. Haseul wasn't sure if one really overrided the other. Maybe, Egret Cove was just a place, not necessarily a good or bad one. Just a place, loaded with memories. 

The roads curved around seemingly randomly and while Haseul recognized everything, she still followed the GPS. She'd never noticed just how cute all of the houses were: yes it was all sort of suburban, but not the creepy sort of similarly suburban layout one would usually think of. The houses were still quite small and a little bit dirty, and each one was very distinct from the last, painted vibrant colors with varying decorations. Haseul could still see sand everywhere; they were only a few blocks from the beach, within walking distance, and swimsuits and towels hanging out to dry.

"Your destination will be on the right," the GPS spoke very loudly. 

"Shut up bitchface," Haseul mumbled with a smile on her face, turning off the GPS and her music and poking her head around to look for the entrance. 

It was only moments later when she knew she found it. She didn't even have to look at the house number; she was sure: the front lawn and porch was far more unkempt than Haseul remembered, but it was still lovely: a light blue home, one level except for an attic bedroom, windows open always and a screen in front of the door. Haseul could see a new plastic basketball hoop, a new addition, probably for Yeojin's sake. 

Haseul smiled and pulled into the driveway. Her grandmother had said she should put her car there, as she didn't drive anymore (and Yeojin, of course, was still way too young). So Haseul pulled in and finally stepped outside. 

She took in a deep breath of relief. God it was nice to finally be out of the car; she'd been driving for three hours straight. Shaking out her legs she went to the trunk, pulling out her light luggage, and approached the door. She finally found an old, rusted doorbell on the side and rang, the noise almost vibrating the whole house. 

"Coming!" A child's voice screamed. Haseul chuckled immediately; that voice was far deeper than Haseul remembered, but there was no one else it could be but Yeojin. Her heart leapt; she had missed her younger cousin. 

The doors suddenly flew open and Yeojin, taller than the last time they'd seen each other but still extremely short (even compared to a 5'2 Haseul). She had long auburn hair and having the most adorable baby face, she had her arms crossed and was dressed like an e-boy. 

"You look old. Like a grown up....but not really," Yeojin said. 

Haseul burst into laughter. "Yeojin, come here." 

The two girls smiled and Haseul gave her a tight hug, squeezing the small preteen. Yeojin made grumbling noises but Haseul could see out of the corner of her eye that she was smiles. 

Haseul could faintly here the sound of slow walking on carpet when Yeojin rapidly pulled out of the hug. 

"Oh! Grandma, let me help you." 

Haseul looked up as Yeojin dashed away, giving their grandmother her arm to lean on. 

"Come give grandma a hug," the older woman spoke as Haseul got up to hug her too. Both her hands were occupied, one with a cane, the other with Yeojin's arm, but Haseul hugged her anyways. 

Haseul pulled away to look at her grandmother and cousin. She was taken by how much older they looked: yes, four years was a long time, but Haseul never thought it could mean this much change. It must have been their ages: children grow so fast, and older people age fast, as well. She could see the difference in both of their faces. The difference between age six, the last time Haseul saw Yeojin, and age ten was humongous, and while Yeojin was still clearly Yeojin, there was a sense of maturity Haseul had never seen. But the real change was in her grandmother. It made her heart hurt a little bit: she remembered a time when she would skip along after her and walk all over their small time, getting ice cream and knick knacks with ease and speed. But now she walked slowly, with a cane, and clearly needed much help. It was weird to think of family as real people who age, get ill, and could even pass away. When Haseul was young, she'd thought her grandma would live forever. 

"Do you need help with your luggage?" 

"Oh no, I've got it, don't worry," Haseul answered, forcing a smile onto her face. "It's been so long! How are you guys?" 

"I'm just happy to have you here, dear. It's been many years, and we've missed you a lot." 

"Aw...and you, Yeojin?" 

"Well...IT'S SUMMER!" Ten year old screamed, and Haseul genuinely grinned this time. _There_ was the Yeojin she always remembered. 

"How was the drive?" Her grandmother asked. 

"Not so bad, actually. Luckily there wasn't any traffic, so it only took three hours." 

"Three hours? Ew," Yeojin spoke. 

"You must be very tired. We should let you unpack and rest before we all talk." 

Haseul had forgotten the ease and understanding with which her grandmother lived, and gave to everyone else around her. She let out a soft exhale. "That would be really, really nice." 

"Do you remember where the guest bedroom is?" 

Haseul nodded and gave them a last smile, taking her luggage to go to her room. 

There used to be two guest bedrooms, but once Haseul's grandma adopted Yeojin, she made one of the bedrooms (the attic room of course) her own. Luckily, there was still another spare room so Haseul could get her own space. 

Once Haseul walked in and shut the door, she was immediately taken by how much it was the same. She was sure her grandmother had never changed the decor. Lucky it was very calm and not the seventies tackyfest one would expect: everything was white, with subtle beach related decor, and a big window on the right side. On the left was the door to the closet and the small bathroom. In the back was the queen size bed, and in the front was the extremely old TV, sitting on a bureau. It was small, but Haseul could get used to it. 

Looking more closely, Haseul could see more things put in. Many surfaces contained photos, old and new, of them and their families. Right on the bedside table was a framed picture of Yeojin and herself, from the last time Haseul had come up to visit. 

There she was, with her ratty hair and bad clothes and acne and braces, the smile on her lips not quiet reflecting the hurt in her eyes: the memories of her school time, the fear that getting her photo taken conjured up in her. 

Haseul grimaced and set the frame photo down; she didn't want to look at it anymore. She sighed. She was tired, she could go for a nap. 


	2. Chapter 2

Her first night at her grandmother's had been, all in all, more relaxing than she expected. 

Once Haseul woke up from her nap the girls had gotten pizza delivered for dinner. Soon after Haseul just went back to her room (as Yeojin insisted she needed some 'minecraft time'), and after a couple of hours of unpacking and watching TV she fell asleep. 

But, clearly her first full day in Egret Cove would be quite so easy. Once Haseul woke up at eleven am, shuffling into the kitchen to grab a quick breakfast with still sleepy eyes, Yeojin came running up to her. 

"Ah!" Haseul said tiredly as Yeojin ran up to her, already dressed in a hoodie, shorts, and sunglasses, her swimsuit visible underneath. 

"Where have you been? Hurry up!" 

"Wait, whah?" 

"We're going to the beach!" 

"We are?"

"Yes, we are!"

"Um...."

"You're coming with me. Come on, do you have anything better to do?" Yeah Haseul was still kind of tired, but Yeojin was right. She really didn't have anything better to do. 

"Alright, alright, I'll come. Just...give me a few minutes." 

Yeojin whined loudly. "Be fast." 

Haseul sighed but quickly grabbed some cereal, scarfing it down before rushing back to her room. She washed up faster than she could have thought, but froze when it came time to change out of her pajamas. 

She paused as she opened the top drawer of her bureau. Sitting before her was the one swimsuit she brought (yes, she knew how stupid it was to only bring one swimsuit when you're spending the summer in a beach town). It was an emerald green one piece with a deep back, both otherwise the most normal, almost boring swimsuit one could possibly imagine. 

She should put it on. Haseul knew she should just put it on. But wearing it _meant_ something: it meant she was willing to hang out at the beach in just that. It meant she felt good about going into the water. Neither of those were things she wanted to do, but if she _didn't_ end up wearing it, she would just feel stupid and silly (and Yeojin would probably make fun of her too). 

"Fine," she mumbled out loud, pulling the one piece on. "But I won't take off the rest of my clothes." 

Over her swimsuit she wore a oversized cream sweater and some plaid cargo shorts, taking the shortest of glances in the mirror before grabbing her bag and throwing a green baseball cap over her messy bob. She stepped out of her room to see Yeojin standing right in front of it, waiting. 

"Finally ready?" 

"I went as quickly as I could!" 

Yeojin looked her up and down. "Where's your swimsuit?" 

"Under this sweater." 

"You're gonna be too hot." 

"A breeze might pick up!?" 

Yeojin sighed. "Fine, whatever. Let's just go. I'm BORED." 

With a small chuckle Haseul followed behind her much shorter cousin into the doorway. They both slipped on flip flops (Yeojin's basically encrusted with sand) and Yeojin grabbed a folded up sheet out of the cabinet before they headed out the door. Haseul turned around to check the lock but Yeojin was already jiggling it to make sure it closed, then making sure she had her keys. 

"Should I drive?" Haseul asked. 

Yeojin snorted. "No way. It's only a few blocks from here. How do you think I get anywhere?" 

Haseul hummed at that and began heading to the left but Yeojin tugged her sweater away, leading her towards the right. 

"Wait...I thought the beach was that way?" Haseul pointed in the direction she had thought to go. 

"Nope! No. Well...technically there's a beach that way, I guess. But not a good beach." 

"I only ever remember going to the beach that way..." 

"I guess you've only been to the bad beaches then. The one that's packed with tourists every day in the summer." 

"Alrighty then. Show me this different beach." 

The two girls fell silent as they walked down the road. There wasn't a real sidewalk but there weren't any cars either, so it wasn't a problem. The houses were just as quirky as they had been on the road Haseul drove down the day before, multicolored with weird art and sculptures and untamed lawns and sand everywhere. The air smelled like the ocean, stronger and stronger with every step, and a smile came to Haseul's lips. 

"Do you do this a lot?" 

"Every day," Yeojin answered. "Take the bus to school, bus back, then go to the beach until it's almost dark." 

"You go with your friends, right?" 

Yeojin shrugged. "Most of the time. When they're busy I just go alone." 

"Wait...grandma lets you just walk around by yourself?" 

"Haseul, I'm ten! I'm not a baby. I go everywhere by myself. My friends live pretty close by and usually I just stay by this beach. But sometimes I go to the dock, or pick up dinner for us at the diner. She gave me a phone for emergencies." Yeojin paused to show Haseul her old flip phone, covered in stickers. "And I just have to be home by dark unless I'm having a sleepover. Those are the only rules." 

"Wow..." Haseul mumbled. This was not the Yeojin she remembered, the little girl that clung to her grandma's leg at all times. Even so young she'd become so independent and self sufficient. Haseul knew part of it was probably necessity, because of her situation. But Yeojin had always had a streak of strength to her.

"Haseul...I'm a preteen, which is basically a teenager, and teenagers are basically adults. Don't hold me back! Anyways, I go with my friends most of the time." 

"Speaking of...where are your friends?" Haseul had thought it was a bit weird that Yeojin was so insistent on them going to the beach together; wouldn't she rather hang out with someone her own age.

Yeojin groaned loudly at the mention of her friends. "Ugh. All of their families decided to go on vacation for the whole summer and they abandoned me here!" 

"Go on vacation? When they live five minutes away from the beach!" 

"I know! It's so stupid and rude of them." 

"Where did they even go?" 

"One of them went to Las Vegas...another went camping...one went to Europe...one went to visit their grandma in Iowa...just, random place. That aren't here." 

"That really is so rude of them." Haseul realized now why Yeojin wanted her to hang today: really, she didn't have anyone in town but grandma and her, and clearly their grandmother wasn't healthy enough to do very much with them. Probably, Yeojin was going to want to hang with her every day. 

But if it was like this, Haseul didn't think she'd mind very much. Yeojin had always been a pretty cool kid and clearly, she still was one. 

"Here's the entrance," Yeojin said. Haseul furrowed her eyebrows; she didn't see anything, but Yeojin turned off of the road. The ten year old began to lead her down a path between two houses, just two lines of stone put in place over the sand. It cut so close that Haseul could see into both of their living rooms through the windows. 

"Isn't this private property?" 

"Technically? Yes. But nobody cares, especially not the owners of these houses. I've never seen the people who live on the left but a couple of old ladies live on the right. Sometimes they'll sell lemonade through the window." 

Haseul smiled at the thought and felt more at ease, walking carefully between the two homes. 

And suddenly...they were there. 

It was a stunning beach. It wasn't like beaches in photos of Hawaii or the Caribbean, but Haseul had to admit it was the most stunning beach she'd seen in person, for sure. It stretched on for ages and ages in either direction. The sand was a soft cream color and the water was dark, but very much blue. It was too dark to see through at this distance but Haseul knew that if she was close to the water, she'd be able to see all the way to the bottom. 

Despite its beauty, it was practically empty. She could see a few couples, young and old, a family, and a lifeguard tower with a lone figure on it, but that was it. She quickly figured that was the reason the beach had remained so beautiful. 

"Holy shit," Haseul mumbled. 

"Language!" Yeojin cried. 

Haseul rolled her eyes. "Sorry. But...this beach is really beautiful. What's it called? How come we've never been before?" 

"This beach doesn't really have a name. But we call it Our Beach." 

"We?" 

"The locals. We've named it Our Beach because its ours. The tourists don't know about it and they'll never know, we make sure of that. We hide it as best we can, so we can keep it nice, and for us. The people of Egret Cove." 

Haseul hummed at that. "How come you're showing me now?" 

"Well, grandma always thought that since you guys didn't live here, it should still be kept a secret. But since you're gonna stay here the whole summer, I decided it was okay to show you. Plus, we're gonna go to the beach a lot, and I don't wanna have to go to the touristy beaches." 

"Hm. Makes sense." 

"Come on, let's go in!" Yeojin cried, kicking off her flip flops by the entrance, on top of a big pile of flip flops. Haseul figured everyone just left their flip flops there, knowing nobody would take it. So Haseul slipped off her flip flops as well and followed Yeojin into the expanse of sand. 

It was definitely warm between her toes but not too hot, not burning at all. Yeojin ran along and Haseul jogged after her until Yeojin flopped in the sand. She quickly got up, shaking herself like a dog, and put the sheet on the sand, sitting down on it. 

Panting, Haseul sat down next to her as Yeojin pulled some more things out of her bag: a towel, a jug of orange juice, and three tomatoes. 

"...what's that?" 

"Snacks," Yeojin answered matter of factly. When she noticed Haseul was still confused, she sighed. "Okay, this was all we had around the house." 

"Who does the grocery shopping?" 

"Grocery shopping? Nobody. I just go to the corner store when we need something." 

Haseul frowned at that. "I'll go grocery shopping for us soon then. I have a car and everything; we can get a lot of stuff at a time." 

Yeojin gasped, taking a bite directly out of the tomato. "Oh my gosh, that would be really nice." Haseul simply watched as Yeojin inhaled the tomato, took a sip of orange juice directly from the jug, and stripped down to her swimsuit. "Well, I'm gonna go in the water." The ten year old dashed down the beach before turning around, looking confused. "Aren't you coming?" 

"Um, I'm okay. I'll just watch you." 

"You're wearing a swimsuit, right?" 

"Yeah, I am." 

"Lame!" 

"I-I can't swim!" Haseul answered, and it was the truth. 

"Even more lame!" Yeojin whined but turned around anyways, splashing into the water. She giggled to herself and swam around, ducking under to look at shells and make her hair all silky like a mermaid. 

Haseul just watched her with a soft smile. She could easily see that under an older person's watchful gaze, Yeojin felt like she could be free, the kid she deserved to be. But while keeping one eye on her little cousin, she let some of her gaze drift to everyone else. 

People were still sparse, but the closest thing was the lifeguard tower. It was tall enough to look over everything, Haseul's eyes going up until she reached the top where the lifeguard sat. And Haseul froze. 

The lifeguard was a girl, a beautiful girl, probably around Haseul's age or a touch older. And she was probably the most beautiful girl Haseul thought she'd ever seen in her life. She had long brown hair with a hint of bangs, tied up in a ponytail, and looked amazing in her lifeguard grade swimsuit. She was clearly confident but not an asshole, looking over the beach and water with a gentle smile. Haseul could tell she was even keeping a careful eye on Yeojin. 

"Haseul!" she heard Yeojin shout. Panicked she turned around, hoping to _god_ Yeojin wasn't drowning. Again, she couldn't swim; and only the cute lifeguard would be there to save her. Haseul breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Yeojin was fine, just sternly staring at her with her hands on her hips. 

"Come on, you're not even gonna put your feet in?" 

"Who's gonna watch the stuff?" 

"The lifeguard? I dunno. People don't steal stuff here, me and my friends leave our stuff all the time. Just come on!" 

Haseul thought for a moment then got up with a sigh; the water did look nice and cool and she was starting to get really hot. She walked down the sand until she got to the cooler sand before finally, putting her toes in. 

She shuddered then released a soft sigh of relief. It was cold but it really just felt refreshing, and she stepped in further. 

"Come closer!" Yeojin called from far deeper in the ocean. 

"I'm only gonna go to my shorts." Haseul waded in further, until she knew that if she went deeper, her shorts would get wet. 

"Agh!" Yeojin cried, but swam back close to her. She started reaching for Haseul's hands until the teenager made a panicked expression.

"If you pull me under, you're dead to me." 

"AGH!" Yeojin yelled. "Fine. But this summer, I'm gonna make you get all the way in. You're gonna be in so much water your hair will get wet." 

Haseul chuckled. "Try me." 

But maybe, further down the line, that would be something she might not mind. 


	3. Chapter 3

Haseul was glad that she had realized going to the beach with Yeojin would now be a daily tradition. So, she was prepared for Yeojin to yell at her to get ready as soon as she woke up.

She chowed down her breakfast as quickly as she could before washing up and throwing on some clothes, not hesitating to wear her swimsuit this time, even if she knew she wasn't going to go in. 

Haseul appeared out of her room soon enough and again, Yeojin was waiting right outside of her door. 

"Faster this time. But still..." 

"Bleh," Haseul answered, but the two headed out towards the door. 

They again threw on their sandy flip flops and grabbed the sheet, heading out the door and into the sunshine. 

The two girls walked down the road towards the beach, talking and passing by all of the pretty houses, Yeojin whining about how Haseul wouldn't swim while Haseul just chuckled along. But finally they reached the small path and made their way into Our Beach. 

The first thing Haseul noticed when they arrived was that the beautiful lifeguard wasn't sitting at the top of her tower. No, this time she was sitting on the ladder, at the very bottom, still surveying the beach and the water. It was even emptier here than the day before, and nobody was even in the water, so Haseul figured it was safe for her to not be on her high seat. 

As Yeojin laid out the blanket and snacks (after their beach visit yesterday Haseul had taken Yeojin to the nearest grocery, so this time their snacks consisted of two La Croix and cut up watermelon), Haseul turned to look at the gorgeous lifeguard. And found she was staring right back at her. 

Haseul quickly shifted her gaze back down to the sand. After a few moments she let her eyes, but not her head, spare another glance back at that lifeguard, still dressed in her bright red swimsuit, hair again up in a ponytail with the hint of bangs still left out. Haseul saw that lifeguard look at her for just another moment before turning her eyes back to the water. A shiver ran Haseul's spine. 

"Earth to Haseul!" Yeojin's loud voice suddenly shouted, jumping up to wave a hand in front of her older cousin's face. 

Haseul shook her head. "Wh-whah? Oh sorry." 

Yeojin snorted as Haseul sat back down on their sheet, opening the watermelon container for the girls to snack on. Against her better judgement, Haseul spared yet another glance over at the lifeguard. 

Yeojin waggled her eyebrows at Haseul.

"What?" Haseul whispered. 

Yeojin looked over at the lifeguard, then back to Haseul, then waggled her eyebrows again. 

"Oh my god," Haseul breathed out. It was humiliating enough to be so whipped for a girl she'd seen twice in her life and not even spoken to. But it was even more humiliating to have her ten year old cousin pick up on it, and tease her about it. 

Yeojin did it again and Haseul groaned. "Leave me alone!" she whined, grabbing a piece of watermelon. 

"Oh!" Yeojin said, sitting up. 

Haseul stuffed another piece of watermelon in her mouth until her cheeks were puffed out just as someone started speaking above her. 

"Hey," the feminine voice spoke with a little giggle. 

Haseul looked up. 

_Fuck._ It was the lifeguard. 

"Mmh," Haseul answered as she tried her absolute best to swallow the watermelon as quickly as she could. Yeojin snorted and the lifeguard laughed a little to but it wasn't at her, it was with her. 

When Haseul finally swallowed the watermelon and managed a smile. 

"I hope this isn't weird," the lifeguard continued. "It's just not often we get a new face around here and I wanted to introduce myself." 

Her voice was soft, slow, deliberate. Haseul thought she was going to pass out. 

"Oh!" Haseul answered as Yeojin made that teasing face again. Haseul slapped her leg as surreptitiously as she could. "Well...um, I'm Haseul!" 

"And I'm Vivi. Do you mind if I sit for a moment? I don't see anyone going in the water..." 

"N-no! No, not at all. We don't mind one single bit, do we, Yeojin?" 

"Not one bit," Yeojin answered with the biggest smirk on her face. 

"Good," the lifegaurd apparently named Vivi said, and sat down beside the two girls. 

Up close, Vivi was even prettier. She was all gentle softness: her delicate features, pretty smile, soft voice. Even her arms were pretty and Haseul was so glad she was sitting because she truly felt weak in the knees. 

"So..whatcha doing here?" Haseul asked. 

Yeojin burst out laughing and Vivi gave her a slightly confused, but still amused expression. "I'm the lifeguard." 

"Oh. Yeah. Right. Sorry." 

_Idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot._ Haseul barely resisted the urge to facepalm at herself. 

"It's alright, it's alright. Well, what are you doing here? You're the newbie." 

"I'm her cousin," Haseul explained, gesturing to Yeojin. "I live in Morrisville but I'm staying here for the summer with family." 

"Oh, I see..." 

"Do you two know each other?" Haseul asked, looking at Yeojin and Vivi. 

"Well, it's a pretty small town. Everyone kinda knows everyone. We know each other's names and faces, but that's about it." 

"I've been lifeguard at this beach for about four years, and Yeojin comes here a lot. So we're pretty familiar with each other." 

"Four years?" Haseul spoke in surprise. 

"Yeah. You can start the summer after your first year of high school." 

"So you're, like, eighteen then?" 

"Yup. Starting college in the fall." Vivi made a nervous little grimace that drove Haseul absolutely insane. "You?" 

"I'm gonna be a senior." 

"And I'm starting middle school. The scariest event of them all," Yeojin piped up. 

Haseul started laughing but Vivi thought for a moment. "You know what? She's right." 

Haseul paused. Middle school was the worst time in her own life, personally. Just three years in a row of utter hell. "Actually...I agree." 

"Told ya." 

Vivi giggled. "Well, I'm a bit nervous too. I'm going to another state and I don't know anyone that's going to the same school as me" 

"What? Why would you ever leave Egret Cove?" Yeojin asked.

"I know, right? Past Vivi who was applying to colleges was a bit stupid. Although, there aren't really any colleges around here..." Vivi answered. 

"Did you grow up here?" Haseul asked. 

"Of course. I was born and raised here. The lifeguard committee would never have let me work at this beach if I hadn't...it's Our Beach; Egret Cove's secret." 

Yeojin adopted a shameful expression. "I hope it's okay that I brought Haseul here. Even though she and her parents visited a lot, my grandma always thought that since they didn't actually live here, it should still be kept a secret, even from them. But since Haseul is gonna stay here the whole summer, I decided it was okay to show her. Plus, we're gonna go to the beach a lot, and I don't wanna have to go to the touristy beaches...it's okay, right?" 

Vivi laughed but it wasn't making fun of Yeojin. In fact, it was obvious she took this very seriously, just as seriously as Yeojin took the hidden secret of this beach. Haseul had briefly wondered if it was just a children's idea of the importance of Our Beach to Egret Cove. But clearly, her feelings on it were a sentiment shared by the entire town. 

"Of course it's okay. If she's gonna be spending the whole summer here, plus with family that is a real Egret Cove local, it's all good. Plus, Haseul's too cool to keep this a secret from. And I've got a feeling she's more than cool enough to keep it to herself." 

Haseul felt herself flush from something other than the hot sun and looked down at the sand as Yeojin nodded slowly. 

"Haseul is cool. Coolest teenager I know." 

Haseul laughed and shook her head. "Wait, what?" 

"Of course you are!" Yeojin cried, and Haseul chuckled a little. 

Honestly, it was an unexpected answer. Haseul knew herself; she knew she wasn't popular or super pretty or anything...let alone cool. And with Yeojin typically being quite the connoisseur of cool (for a ten year old, that is), Haseul was pretty surprised at her answer. 

"I know, I can tell," Vivi added. 

"You two just don't know me well enough yet." 

"Wrong! I'm your cousin. I'm your family." Yeojin squinted and leaned in closer. "I _know_ you." 

"And...I get your cool vibe. I can feel it," Vivi added. 

Haseul blushed even more as Yeojin made way too obvious little glances back and forth and back and forth between Vivi and Haseul before clearing her throat. 

"Anyways..." 

Haseul shook her head to stop herself from fantasazing about how good of a kisser Vivi probably was as Vivi did her own little head shake too.

Vivi looked towards the water and deflated a little. "Oh, crap," she spoke with a sigh. 

"What?" Haseul asked. 

"A toddler is about to go into the water." Yeojin and Haseul turned to see a very small little boy running along the beach towards the shoreline. "I have to go do my job." Vivi groaned and stood up. 

Haseul pouted at her. "I guess you do...if you must." 

"The tower is so hot," Vivi whined. 

"Just like you!" Haseul cheered before catching herself, slapping her hand over her mouth. 

Yeojin burst out laughing and Vivi turned back to her in confusion, cutely tilting her head. 

"Wait, what did you say?" She asked, so innocently that Haseul was sure she hadn't heard her. 

"Oh! Um, nothing. H...have fun! In the tower!" 

Vivi giggled and gave Haseul an utterly dazzling smile, so bright that it almost knocked her over. "Will do." 

Haseul watched with a soft sigh as Vivi dashed away, eagerly climbing back up the tower. 

Yeojin cleared her throat loudly. 

"Wh-whah?" 

"Earth to Haseul..." 

"I'm here, I'm here!" 

"Finally. Now, I'm gonna go in the water for a bit. You can come with me or be a boring dude, but if you decide to be boring then you have to watch the time for me and make sure we leave before two o'clock. I have a minecraft meeting with my friends at two." 

Haseul checked the time; it was 1:30. "Alrighty, go have fun." 

"Woohoo!" Yeojin cheered, throwing off her cover-up and running into the water, her bright orange swimsuit shining through the waves. With a gentle smile Haseul watched her younger cousin, only sparing a glance at Vivi ten or so times. But everytime she did, the lifeguard was either looking back at her, or watching Yeojin play. 

Finally, Haseul stood up and gathered everything, ten minutes before two. "Yeojin! It's time to go!" 

"Co-ming!" Yeojin shouted back, running out of the water quickly on her little legs. Haseul picked up all of their things and gave Vivi one finally look. She was already giggling at them. 

"Heading home?" Vivi asked. She was smiling, but Haseul thought there might have been a little sadness in her eyes. 

"Yup. Yeojin's got a minecraft meeting." 

"You couldn't miss that! Go home quickly." 

Vivi and Haseul gave each other one finally stare before Haseul waved, her and Yeojin walking away from the beach and back onto the path. 

The two girls were quiet until they were a little ways away from the beach, off the path and back onto the road. 

"You know, I'm not really surprised you're a lesbian," Yeojin spoke out of the blue. 

"W-wait, what?" Haseul chuckled uncomfortably to herself and stared at the ground beneath her, flustered. Did her ten year old cousin really pick up on things that much. 

"Yeah. It's really obvious, especially when you were around Vivi. You got sooo flustered with her; your face was red, like, the entire time she was talking to us. That's how I knew. Even though I always kinda got the vibe." 

"Always? What, you were getting the lesbian vibe when you were, like, six?"

"Yup." 

"I'm sure you didn't know about lesbians when you were six." 

"I did! And I knew you were one. Anyways, there's nothing to be worried about. I'm pretty sure grandma's not homophobic, so it'll be fine. She won't judge if you date Vivi this summer." 

"Who ever said I was going to date Vivi?" 

"Don't you want to?" 

"I-I barely know her!" 

"But you like her. Like, like-like her." 

"Yeojin, that's not how it works." 

"Yeah it is. Older people pretend things are different but I know the truth. That's exactly how it works. And please, Haseul. I saw your googly eyes at her all day yesterday and today." 

Oh god. Googly eyes...and even Yeojin could tell. Well, maybe Yeojin was just extra observant. Probably not...but Haseul could hope. 

"You know what you are?" Yeojin continued.

"What." 

"You're a simp." 

Haseul gave her younger cousin a look. "How do you even know that word?" 

"Everyone knows that word! And you, my friend, are Vivi's simp." 

"Oh my god," Haseul whined. She met the girl two hours ago; and yet, Yeojin wasn't entirely wrong. 

But at this point, Yeojin's ten year old teasing had thoroughly embarrassed her, and she was ready for this conversation to be over. 

"Yeojin!" She cried. 

"What?" 

"Your minecraft meeting!" 

"Ah!" Yeojin screamed and Haseul briefly winced, hoping to god nobody would come out of the houses on either side of the road. "What time is it?" 

Haseul pulled her phone out of her tote bag. "1:59!" 

"NOOOOOO!" Yeojin shamelessly yelled and began to sprint down the road, still dripping wet in her flip flops. 

"Wait for me!" Haseul shouted after her and with a brief laugh, ran after her.


	4. Chapter 4

Another day in Egret Cove, another day heading off to the beach. 

And of course it was fun because she was with Yeojin, and at a beautiful almost private beach, with the smell of the ocean and the bright sun shining down on them. 

But now, Haseul had her shining girl too.

She had spent the better part of three hours last night simply fantasizing. Everyone has their little nightly made up movie about themselves and someone else, imagining the romcom of their dreams. Haseul was just as guilty as everyone else of this. But inserting Vivi into her dreamland had been so wonderful and exciting that Haseul couldn't even fall asleep. 

Fuck, she was whipped. Already. 

The girls walked quickly to the beach, Yeojin yelling at her, trying to figure out what was Haseul's hurry? But as soon as Yeojin saw the little blush on Haseul's cheeks she turned relentless, only stopping when they were in earshot of the gorgeous lifeguard. 

But as soon as Vivi noticed them on the beach she looked just as excited as Haseul felt, running down from the tower to greet them as Yeojin set up their spot and Haseul stared dazedly. 

"Alright, I've got five minutes of break, and I'm here to spend it with you two. If you don't mind..." 

"No! No! We don't mind! We don't mind at all! We could never mind!" Haseul answered, noticing Yeojin making a face out of the corner of her eye. 

"Oh thank god," Vivi breathed out, sitting down on the blanket across from Haseul. "Oh, I like your outfit!"

Haseul looked down at the white crop top and loose workout pants she was wearing. She'd decided to throw on her bikini. Even though she was sort of terrified of it, she knew she wouldn't actually use it, and then she could wear a crop top properly. 

"Oh, um, thank you...um...I like your face!" Haseul eventually spit out. 

Yeojin snorted loudly and burst into laughter while Vivi gave her a little confused but still happy smile. 

"Well, thank you!" Vivi answered, and what Haseul said finally hit her. 

_Fuck._ Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. If Vivi didn't already think Haseul was the biggest weirdo in the world, now Haseul was sure she thought that. 

"Uh..." Haseul looked down at the ground uncomfortably. "I-I'm sorry." 

"Don't be sorry." Vivi looked up at Haseul and rubbed her arm. 

Haseul immediately felt her entire face burning as Yeojin leaned over to whisper in Haseul's ear. 

" _Simp._ "

~~~~~~~~~~

It was the worst part of the day in her summer thus far at Egret Cove, the incredibly boring time between the beach and dinner where Haseul had absolutely jack shit to do. 

It had been nice at first, having just a few hours of the day where Haseul could do nothing, just watch TV or scroll through instagram in peace while Yeojin played minecraft or whatever else she did on the massive old desktop computer in their grandmother's bedroom. 

But now it was so incredibly boring, when she had nothing to do but watch TV or scroll through instagram. 

She sighed. She needed something to do, and some hours of the day where she interacted with people her own age. Probably, she'd try to get a job soon. She was kind of afraid of how Yeojin would react to kind of being ditched by her. But she'd only work part time anyways, and then these free hours in the late afternoon and early evening would be so much sweeter. 

But in the meantime, all Haseul could do was open instagram, yet again, as the TV played an old rerun of Parks and Rec. 

Suddenly, instagram froze, and her phone began to vibrate in her fingers. The screen switched from her feed to the call page, showing a contact by the name of _Jinsoul Jung_ on her screen. Haseul froze, anxiety bubbling up in her stomach, before tossing the phone back onto her bed. After a while it stopped, before beginning a few moments later. This time it was _Jungeun Kim_ , requesting to facetime. Haseul ignored it again. 

Haseul let out a real growl when the phone buzzed _again_ , Jinsoul's name returning to the screen, but still, Haseul did nothing. 

She felt anxious and uncomfortable, only slightly relieved when the buzzing stopped. 

And then, there was a knock at her door. 

"Come in!" She called. Honestly, Haseul was happy for the distraction, muting the TV. 

Yeojin pushed her way inside, shuffling across the white carpet and flopping face first onto Haseul's bed. 

"I'm bored," she whined in the voice of someone much younger than herself. 

"Same," Haseul groaned. Those phone calls made her a little less bored than before, but it was still pretty true. 

Yeojin turned herself over and saw Haseul's phone light up. "Ooh!" Without asking permission, she picked up the phone and stared at the screen. 

"Why do you have so many notifications? You never have notifications." 

"Gimme that," Haseul grumbled, snatching her phone out of Yeojin's small fingers to see what she was talking about. The missed call and facetime notifications blared bright against her default phone background, along with a voicemail from Jinsoul and a text from Jungeun. 

_howsit at the beach???? we miss u!!!_ Jungeun had wrote. 

_sorry, im busy w my cousin,_ Haseul sort of lied.

_miss u too_

"Who's Jinsoul? Who's Jungeun?" Yeojin asked. 

Haseul sighed. Jinsoul and Jungeun were....her friends, technically. She had met the pair at the beginning of freshman year of high school, in their PE class: she was the odd one out for pairs in tennis, but Jinsoul and Jungeun had taken pity on her and invited her to join their group. 

Haseul remembered that day in freshman year PE like it was yesterday. She felt so awkward that first day, being the last one left over, her heart sinking, knowing that high school was probably just going to be another repeat of her middle school experience. But she'd almost felt more awkward when Jinsoul and Jungeun invited her over: two gorgeous blondes that had gone to the nice middle school, far taller than her, good at tennis, taking pity on her to join their twosome. 

And things had been like that ever since: when they brought her into their group for tennis, they brought her into their group as a friend. And Haseul just felt more and more uncomfortable: they were both beautiful, and smart, and proud that they were dating, proud that they were lesbians, always trying to include Haseul despite how different she felt she was from the two of them. 

Now, it was the same: neither of them were blondes anymore but they were still dating, still smart and pretty, still not getting flustered when they got teased or saw a cute girl, still beloved by the whole high school, not being afraid to apply, early decision, to good colleges. 

And Haseul, too, was still the same: single, spacy, not pretty, not eye catching, awkward and easily flustered, always an outcast, lingering from her years of exclusion in middle school, terrified of the future and the past and the present. 

So, yes, technically, Jinsoul and Jungeun were Haseul's friends, all the way back from freshman year. They were the people she spent the most time with, other than her family. Sometimes, they hung out, and they'd get each other gifts for birthdays. 

But Haseul knew the truth. Jinsoul and Jungeun were kind girls who took pity on a loner in that damn PE class, and they were kind girls who took pity on a loner through all of high school. Really, Jinsoul and Jungeun didn't like her: how could they? They were kind of perfect and Haseul was on the other end of that spectrum: not perfect was far too light of a way to put it, Haseul thought. She was more like, far from perfect. Jinsoul and Jungeun just felt bad for her, and kept her around so she wouldn't be alone, kept her around so they could feel good that they were doing something nice for a poor pathetic loser like Haseul. Probably, they were secretly excited she was gone, and they could have fun just the two of them, as equals. The texts and calls were obligatory. 

But that was far too much explaining to give a little girl like Yeojin. Yeojin, for one, actually thought Haseul was cool. And Haseul wanted to keep it that way. 

"They're...my friends," Haseul finally just ended up saying. 

"Why didn't you answer their calls then?" 

"I...just didn't want to..." 

"Why wouldn't you want to talk to your friends? You haven't seen them in a few days, and you weren't doing anything until I came in...you even said you were bored." 

"It's hard to explain, Yeojin." 

"Try me," the ten year old firmly answered. 

Haseul hummed. "I just don't think they like me very much. That's all." 

"Why? Are they mean to you?" 

"No, never..." 

"And do they hang out without you all the time?" 

"Not really. They always invite me places..." 

"Do they make fun of you?" 

Haseul shook her head. "Only friendly teasing." 

Yeojin snorted. "Then they like you! Ugh, grown ups are so weird. They always say, like 'oh, it's hard to explain', but whenever they say that they're just being stupid." 

"I'm not being stupid." 

Yeojin suddenly scooted around the bed and looked over Haseul shoulder, turning on her phone screen and staring. 

"They left you a voicemail? What is this, 1952?" 

"Actually, I think voicemails didn't even exist yet in the 50's, Yeojin..."

"Whatever. I thought voicemails were for old people. Grandma made me set hers up and I tried to tell her nobody uses that anymore, but she still made me do it...anyways. I guess I was wrong. The only reason you would leave a voicemail I think, instead of just text, is if they don't have a texting phone, or if it's more important. So I guess what they said must be important." 

"I don't know what they would say that would be important." 

"That's why we have to listen!" Yeojin cried and snatched the phone out of Haseul's hand. With her nimble little kid fingers she punched in Haseul's password, and went to her voicemail. 

"Wait, wait! How do you even know my password?" 

"I've been watching you unlock your phone; I have it memorized. You shouldn't bother trying to change it. I'll memorize it again. Don't worry, I'll use my powers for good, and not evil!" 

"You're using your powers for evil right now!" 

Yeojin ignored her, pressed play, and suddenly Jinsoul's tinny voice was playing through her phone's speaker. 

"Hi Haseul!" Jinsoul cheered. 

"Hi Haseul!" Jungeun added. 

"Hiiiiiii!!! We miss you so much. We're on our fourth sleepover in a row right now and it's be really fun to hook up all the time," Jinsoul spoke. Yeojin's eyes widened and Haseul flushed on behalf of her young cousin. While Jinsoul and Jungeun had been dating as long as Haseul had known them, neither were out to their parents yet, so they could have sleepovers and do stuff without anyone being suspicious. "But we miss you!" 

"Yeah, it's just weird not having you around," Jungeun added.

"Our life of the party Jo Haseul! It's kinda boring without you making us laugh all the time. Anyways...this is getting pretty long, so we'll leave you alone now. But please call us back! We wanna chat!" 

"Call us!" Jungeun whined into the speaker. 

"Alright, hope you're having fun at the beach with your cousin. We have to catch up later! Talk soon!" Jinsoul finished, and the phone clicked. 

Haseul's heart ached. She wished so bad that what they were saying was true. The truth was, if Haseul could pick any real friends to have, out of anyone in the world, she would pick those two. Haseul only wished their friendship was for the right reasons, was real. 

When the to be high school senior looked up, she got an eyeful of Yeojin staring at her, deadpan. 

"What?" 

"You think they don't like you?" 

"Um..." 

"How could you think that? They...they really like you. You guys are best friends. I know, because I have best friends." 

"Yeojin-" 

"Is this because of middle school? Even though I was really little I remember when you were in middle school you were really weird and sad a lot and dressed in all black and stuff, and you hid the picture of you from middle school..." Yeojin turned to the bedside table where the photo of thirteen year old Haseul and six year old Yeojin stayed face down. Yeojin reached to flip it back up and Haseul's cheeks flamed, her heart pounding, her stomach lurching. 

"Yeojin, could you...leave me alone for a minute?" 

Haseul grimaced but her heart cracked when she saw Yeojin's forlorn expression. Clearly, the ten year old was just trying to help. She hadn't meant to touch a nerve. 

"A-are you mad at me?" 

"No, no, no, Yeojin, I'm not mad. I just...wanna decide what we're eating for dinner. I'm starving. I wanna try and find a recipe with what we have in the kitchen." 

Yeojin perked up immediately. Haseul thanked god for her childlike inability to hold a grudge. "Actually, grandma's making spaghetti! That's what I came in here to tell you." 

Haseul grinned. "YUM!" 

Yeojin giggled. "Well, I'm gonna go sneak in a few more minutes of minecraft time before dinner." She slid off the bed and went back to the door. "Have fun! Doing...nothing." 

Haseul laughed. "Will do." 

As soon as Yeojin left, shutting the door tight behind her, the smile came off of Haseul's face. She looked at her phone, turned it all the way off, and turned back up the volume on the TV. 


	5. Chapter 5

Haseul couldn't take it anymore. She really, just, couldn't take it. 

Yes, she enjoyed the few hours of the day when she would go to the beach with Yeojin. But the rest of her time was spent in complete, utter boredom: with her grandmother reading or asleep, and Yeojin playing minecraft or just doing general other...whatever ten year olds did, Haseul had nothing to do except watch TV and look at her phone. 

She needed to see other people closer to her own age. She needed to have a purpose. She needed to _make money_.

So, it was high time she got a job. It would be kind of hard to break the new to Yeojin, as it meant she wouldn't be around to go to the beach every day. But she wouldn't work more than part time, so she'd probably be able to hang out with Yeojin half the week. 

She decided to start her hunt early, getting up at the shocking hour of eight am (it truly felt wrong to get up so early in the summer), putting on the nicest clothes she brought and actual makeup. When she came into the kitchen to grab a quick breakfast Yeojin was already there, wearing an inquisitive look. 

"What are _you_ doing?" 

"Um, yeah, about that...Yeojin, I wanna talk with you." 

"Did you and Vivi go on a secret date without telling me?" 

"I wish." The words slipped out of Haseul's mouth before she could control herself. 

"Simp," Yeojin mumbled, and Haseul rolled her eyes. "But anyways. Why do you look fancy?" 

Haseul sighed. "I'm gonna look for a job today." 

Yeojin's jaw dropped and she looked genuinely astounded and hurt. Haseul knew she might react like this but she was hoping she wouldn't. Well...Yeojin was ten, with no friends in town to hang out with. Haseul got it. 

"What? And just leave me? What about our beach trips?" 

"It's only gonna be part time, I promise. Just a few days a week. I'll still be able to go the beach with you about half of the week." 

Yeojin crossed her arms, sighing and rolling her eyes dramatically. She flopped back into the seat, leaning and pouting at Haseul. "Why do you need a job anyways?" 

"I'm gonna start college soon! And if I'm not working, I'm just spending money that I could be saving for college..." 

Yeojin sighed, again. "I hate adult stuff." 

"Me too, Yeojin. Me too." 

"Then why don't you just forget about it?" the soon to be middle school student asked. 

"Because! Because." Haseul sighed. "Look, I won't need to save all of the money. We can get snacks and yummy dinners all the time if I work. Plus...I'll buy you something from minecraft?" 

Slowly, Yeojin grinned. "Now, that's a deal I can get behind. As long as you still come to the beach with me on your days off." 

"Of course I will Yeojin!" 

"And not just so you can check out Vivi!" 

"I promise!" Haseul whined. She swore, Vivi was only part of the reason she wanted to go to the beach every day. 

"Now...if there's snacks and minecraft on the line, I think I will support you in finding a job. Wanna practice for interviews with me?" 

Haseul smiled brightly at her sweet cousin. "Yes please." 

~~~~~~~~~~

It had been three hours and still, Haseul had nothing. Nothing! Not even the promise of a call back. 

Literally every place she went in, from many stores in the giant mall two towns over, to the big grocery store, to the little tourist shops near the main beach, to the fancy restaurants in the hipster area of town, she was met with rejection. She had dressed up for the occassion, practiced her little speech and interviewing with Yeojin; she had even revised her resume and printed it out all nice! Most of the places were rude to her. Some wouldn't even take a copy of her resume. 

But every single one had sworn to her that they were not hiring. She only had one copy of her resume left even though she'd printed twenty copies; that's how many places she went to. And not a single one was hiring. It didn't make sense; it's summer. Wasn't this the busy season? Didn't they need more people for this time of year? 

Haseul felt completely defeated. Maybe Yeojin had been right; she should have just gone with her to the beach and not bothered to seek out a job. 

She had ventured pretty far from her grandmother's house in looking for a summer job but now she was almost back, no more than fifteen minutes away. It was a part of town Haseul had never been to before but it didn't look all that different from grandmother's area. At this point, it was just residential buildings. Until, she came upon a storefront that made her stop. 

Checking to make sure no one was behind her Haseul slowed down, squinting to get a good look. It was a restaurant, with a neon sign above the door that read 'Allison's 24 Hour Diner'. From what she could tell, it seemed like a typical quaint diner, and based on the street, the back of it probably looked over Our Beach. 

Haseul hummed; she had one last resume left and there was parking right in front. Huh. It seemed like fate. 

So with some struggle she parked her car and hopped out. Part of her still felt defeated, assuming that this place wouldn't be hiring either, but there was a part of her that began to have hope. 

She walked up to the door and pushed it open, the door making a soft jingling sound. 

It was the cutest, quaintest place you could possibly imagine: wood panelling everywhere, with booth seats and chairs with red leather cushions. It smelled like butter and coffee and steak in the best way possible, the soft sound of chatter filling the space. Looking around, it was obvious this was a local's food spot, with a group of old hippies and another group of surfers each taking up a table, sand from their bags leaving a pile on the floor. Actually, Haseul could spot sand almost everywhere, but it felt like it belonged. And she'd been right before; the back windows looked out onto Our Beach. The whole place reminded her of the pizza shop in Mystic Pizza, that old 80's movie her mom forced her to watch as soon as she turned sixteen. The restaurant was cute and quaint, but not on purpose. It was real. 

Haseul could only spot two employees: two young girls, definitely in high school, probably the same age or younger than herself. Both had long, dark hair and normal clothes on, other than a bright red apron with the neon sign from outside stitched on the front in white thread. One was wiping down the counter, and Haseul watched as the other came up behind her, tugging the tie of her apron until it opened. The girl with the now untied apron turned around and made a face at the other as she giggled and dashed to the other end of the restaurant. But they looked at each other with affection, even then. And they were both _gorgeous_. Like, celebrity gorgeous. Otherwordly gorgeous. 

After taking in the restaurant Haseul finally began to approach the counter to order. Even though she'd been doing this all day it still made her anxious every time. Plus, she was nervous to talk to the pretty, cool seeming girls. 

Haseul approached the counter and waited for a moment, getting her resume ready. About a minute or so later, the girl who untied her coworker's apron walked around to the back side of the counter. 

The girl, who was somehow even prettier up close, leaned all the way forward. "Sup." 

Haseul just stared back at her, wide eyed, and she snorted and stood up. 

"Just kidding, sorry." She grinned, and Haseul was a little starstruck. Not in the way she was with Vivi, of course. But still starstruck. "What can I getcha?" 

"U-um...actually...I-I was wondering if this restaurant is hiring? I-I have my resume here..." 

The girl grinned and turned to the back. "Allison!" she shouted. 

"Coming, coming," a huffy voice returned and a few moments later, a woman popped out of the back. She was an older white woman with long, dirty blonde curly hair. She had on an apron matching the two girls, but was wearing a soft, worn t-shirt and a patchwork skirt. Looking over the counter just a little, Haseul could also see she was wearing sandals, with her toenails each painted a different color. There was something about her that was innately comforting, a kind of art teacher vibe. Haseul liked her already. 

"She wants to know if we're hiring," the employee explained. 

"Oh, oh! Yes we are. It's the summer season; we're busier than ever! Our other girl left for college last year too...what's your name, dearie?" the woman apparently named Allison spoke. 

"Oh, I'm Haseul!" 

"Nice to meet you. So very nice to meet you." 

"I-I have a resume!" 

"Oh how lovely," Allison answered as Haseul passed it to her. She read it over, Haseul noticing the massive turquoise rings on her fingers. "You worked at Carl's Junior last summer?" 

"Yes, I did." 

"All of last summer?" Haseul nodded and Allison let out a desperaging sigh. "How awful."

Haseul chuckled a little; that was not the answer she was expecting. But it was true. "Yeah, it was." 

"To waste a teenage summer at a place like that?" She sighed and set down the resume. "Do you have a few minutes?" 

"Y-Yes, actually, I have all the time in the world." 

Allison smiled. "Then how about we do a quick interview?" 

Haseul gasped; this was better than she ever could have hoped for. "That would be great!" 

"Follow me." Allison beckoned Haseul behind the counter then led her into the back. They passed by the kitchen, where two male cooks were frying and pouring pancake batter and blending milkshakes. Honestly, it smelled incredible. 

Allison led her further in until the reached a small office like room. There was an ancient looking computer, printer, and fax machine, along with a corkboard. It was covered in pictures of strangers, but Haseul spotted a few with the two girl employees, and some of Allison. She made note of a photo of Allison pecking lips with another older woman. 

"So Haseul, how old are you?" 

"I'm seventeen." 

"So, going to be a senior next year?" She nodded. "What a big milestone! Congratulations." 

"Th-thank you." 

"What brings you to Egret Cove? You must not be from here. I know everyone, and everyone in this town knows me." 

"Actually I'm from Morrisville, but I'm staying with family over the summer, my grandmother and my younger cousin." 

Allison took another peek at her resume. "Mrs. Jo, by any chance? And her little granddaughter Yeojin?" 

"Yes!" 

"Oh, what lovely people, those two are. They used to come in all the time for dinner, once a week at least. Now, Yeojin just comes in to pick up food to go. She must be almost done with elementary school now, right?" 

Haseul was briefly amazed that Allison remembered something like that. "Yeah, she's ten. She's starting middle school next year." 

"My my, how time flies. I remember when she was just a little girl. She is still quite cute...but there's a certain strength about her." 

"I agree. Definitely." 

Allison took one last brief glance at Haseul's resume before setting it down. "Haseul...I love your energy, and would love to have you as a part of our staff." 

"Really?" Haseul grinned so wide it felt like her mouth would fall off. She got something, in the first day of looking, and not only was it close to her house, it was definitely the funnest looking place out of everywhere she'd been to. 

"Of course, dearie. When can you start?" 

"Oh, immediately." 

"Good, good. And what does your availability look like?" 

"I'm free literally anytime." 

"Ah, good, good. Part time is good, right?" 

"Yes." 

"Good. Unless my younger staff needs to support themselves or their families, I try to give them not too many hours. In the summer, you need time to run free....does day shift sound alright? I'd rather you didn't be going home in the dark, after all, even though Egret Cove is safe, you never know...." 

"Day shift is perfect." 

"Good, good. Let me think...well, I'd like to put you in the front. Doing basic waitressing, bussing tables, clean up, dealing with the cash register, running food...does that sound like good work to you?" 

"It sounds just right." 

"Oh! You'll be working with Heejin and Hyunjin. I think you'll get along with them just swimmingly, you three are very close in age. They're only about a year or so younger than you. They were the two girls working right now. The one you talked to was Heejin, and the other girl is Hyunjin." 

"They seem nice." 

"Oh, they are! Such lovely girls. I've known them since they were just little girls, just toddlers. Once they got into high school, the first place they went to look for a job was with me. Here, Haseul, we're all just like a little family." Haseul smiled. Although the two girls, Heejin and Hyunjin, were intimidating, she could sense that this place really was like a family. "Anyways...could you perhaps come in tomorrow?" 

"Yes! Absolutely!" 

"Does ten am sound good?" 

Haseul sighed with relief; she usually got up at eight now anyways, because of Yeojin. "That's perfect." 

"Let me give you this..." Allison reached behind her into a box and pulled out three of those red aprons, handing them to Haseul. "Wear one of these tomorrow, alright? Just let me know if you need more." 

"Thank you so much!" 

"No, thank you. Now, go home and get some rest for tomorrow. We'll go easy on you, of course, but it'll be a big day." 

Haseul smiled. "Will do." Honestly, she was looking forward to tomorrow already. 


	6. Chapter 6

"Oh my god," Haseul whined. 

"Haseul, dude, Haseul, it's gonna be alright. It's gonna be alright! You've had jobs before, right?" Yeojin asked.

"Y-Yes..." 

"And you've done waitressing, right?" 

"Yeah..." 

"And Allison is the nicest old white lady you'd ever meet?" 

"She is..." 

"She is! Come on, I know everyone that works there and they are all so nice. I've been going there since I was a baby. And even if you make mistakes, it's okay! It's your first day!" 

"I know," Haseul answered. Well, yeah, she knew that, but she also didn't know that. Like, her brain refused to process the fact that it was okay to make mistakes, especially on the first day. 

It was 9:20 am and time for her to go to her first day at Allison's 24 Hour Diner. Was everything Yeojin saying true? Yes. Haseul has worked at very similar jobs before with much less nice people. But still, she was incredibly nervous. Anxiety sat like a weight in the pit of her stomach, her hands shook and she couldn't concentrate all that well. 

"Come on, Haseul. You've got this! It's gonna be great. You can have a job, I can get a discount when we get dinner from there....anyways. Yeah. You got this." 

Haseul managed a small smile as Yeojin patted her arm. "Y-yeah. You're right. Now...I think I'm gonna head out." 

"It's 9:25! Aren't you supposed to be in at 10?" 

"Yeah?" 

"Don't you wanna chill out for a few more minutes?" 

Haseul was absolutely not capable of chilling out for a few more minutes. "I don't want to be late though..." 

"Fine! But don't blame me when you're twenty minutes early." 

Haesul sighed and gave Yeojin a hug, darting out of the house. 

After coming back to her grandmother's yesterday and discussing everything with Yeojin, she realized that not only was Allison's 24 Hour Diner a local mainstay, just like Our Beach, it was also a ten minute walk from her grandmother's house. It would be a waste of gas money, parking space, and driving energy to take the car over. 

And of course, Yeojin had been right. She ended up getting there a full twenty minutes before her shift started. She sighed, pulling out her phone and sitting on someone's doorstep a few houses away. Even soft music through earbuds and scrolling through instagram couldn't calm her nerves. 

At 9:52 am Haseul decided that it was a good thing to be early, it showed initiative and responsibility, so she tied the red apron over her black t-shirt and mom jeans and walked inside. 

It altogether looked pretty similar to when she had come in yesterday, with a few groups of customers, the girls apparently named Heejin and Hyunjin walking around the floor, and nobody at the counter. She stood there, with no idea what to do. Well, all she could do was walk up to the counter and see if she could talk to Allison. 

After a few beats Heejin came back around the counter, just like yesterday, and leaned forward. "Welcome back," she spoke lowly. 

"H-Hi...um...I-I'm here for training, a-and..." 

"Ooh. Alright. Allison!" The high schooler yelled to the back. 

"Coming, coming," Haseul heard her voice say distantly, until she reached the front, wearing a similarly hippie-dippie outfit like yesterday's. "Oh Haseul! Hello. You're a bit early, but that's great. Come along now, dearie, let me show you a few things." 

Heejin slipped back into the main portion of the restaurant as Haseul followed Allison again into the back, stopping first at a strange little machine beside a plastic container full of long strips of paper. "Here's how you clock in. Just write your name on one of these papers, then slip it all the way in when you're ready. It'll put the time down, and do the same when you clock out." Haseul followed her instructions and with a little click, the paper said _9:57 am_ on it. It felt so old fashioned; Haseul had always clocked in through the computer before. 

"Now that you have that down, follow me." Haseul followed Allison to the main sinks, where Heejin was standing and doing some dishes. Allison led Haseul past her and to a bucket with a bunch of towels in it. Allison grabbed one and wrung it out, handing it off to Haseul. "Now, I'm a bit busy. So for the moment, could you just wipe everything down? Make sure all the tables and chairs are clean. I'll come get you when I can teach you the next task." 

Haseul breathed a sigh of relief. If she could do anything, she could do that. "Will do." 

"Thank you dearie." Allison patted her arm and made her way back to the kitchen as Haseul went back into the main part of the restaurant, passing by Hyunjin, who was taking orders at the counter. 

And so, Haseul began. She did the best cleaning job she had ever done in her entire life: wiping down all the tables to pure cleanness, all the chairs as well, the seats and the backs, and around and underneath the table condiments (salt, pepper, and ketchup). She stretched out the process as long as she could. 

But...soon enough, she was done. Every table and chair that wasn't occupied had been thoroughly cleaned. Heejin had returned from the back and her and Hyunjin were chatting by the food pick-up station. They were both giggling and smiling. And suddenly, Haseul felt both of their eyes on her, looking her over. But just as quickly the two girls shared a whisper and another giggle, Heejin's arm gently and a little _too_ affectionately resting on Hyunjin's waist. 

Fuck. Haseul was one hundred percent sure the two girls were making fun of her, laughing at her behind her back. Haseul quickly looked down to the floor. They had worked together here forever, what else could Haseul have expected? This wasn't at all out of the ordinary, of course.

Allison hadn't given her another assignment yet and while Haseul had planned to ask one of the girls what to do, she absolutely did not want to do that now. So, she decided to do a deep cleaning, again: back to the back of the restaurant, wiping down chairs and tables and literally anything she could get at to clean. 

And...she was done. Again. Too quickly. Again. And Allison was nowhere in sight to give her more to do. 

So Haseul had to face the music: she had to go talk to the scary girls who probably already hated her. Hyunjin was talking to a customer but Heejin was behind the counter, in between taking orders, sipping on a drink. 

"H-Hi...." Haseul quickly spoke as she approached the counter. 

"Huh?" Heejin answered. 

"U-um...s-so Allison told me just to wipe down tables until she came out front, but I already did that twice and she's still gone, so...i-is there anything else I can do?" 

Heejin thought for a minute and sighed. "Look. Allison told us we were getting someone new today but she didn't tell us what to do about it. You know, sometimes she likes to take the training process slow. I dunno how she'd feel about us giving you more tasks. So...I dunno. Just wipe down the tables again, I guess." 

"O-okay..." 

Heejin chuckled. "She's just like that." 

"Alright." Haseul looked down and stepped away from the counter, going to do the deep cleaning process a third time. 

Now, she was terrified, her heart was beating in her chest. God, Heejin and Hyunjin were so intimidating. Were they cold? Or was it just Haseul? Knowing herself, it could have gone either way. 

She sighed, keeping on cleaning. Haseul should have known it would turn out like this with her coworkers. 

Haseul was about three quarters of the way through her third round of cleaning when a voice made her turn around. 

"Hey, sweetheart." It wasn't the gentle, soothing voice of Allison, no, it was the voice of an older man. A strike of fear ran down Haseul's spine, but ever the terrified food service worker, Haseul turned around with a smile on her face. 

"H-Hi," she stuttered at the middle aged man, leaning back against the wall in his booth, alone, with his legs spread. Haseul tried not to look horrified. 

"What's a girl as sexy as yourself doing working here?" 

Haseul immediately blushed a bright red. She felt sick to her stomach. 

"U-um-" 

"What's your name? How old are you?" 

Haseul noticed the gold wedding band on the man's ring finger. She was frozen. She didn't know what to do. 

"Haseul...I'm sixteen..." 

"Sixteen? The perfect age." The man let out a whistful sigh and Haseul's blood ran cold. "Anyways, don't mind me, Haseul. Go back to your cleaning. I like the view." 

Now she felt truly sick but fuck, fuck, she didn't know what to do. She really, really didn't want to turn around but she also wanted to still be a good employee, it was her first day after all. But before she could do anything, Hyunjin approached the table, a plate of food in hand. 

"Here you go sir- oh!" 

And before Haseul could do anything, Hyunjin kneed the man in the crotch. _Hard._

The man gasped and grabbed his pants, doubling over as Hyunjin wore the most falsely sympathetic look Haseul had ever seen in her life. 

"Oh, I am _so, so sorry_." Hyunjin's words sounded so fake Haseul almost wanted to laugh. And with a smile glance Hyunjin gave Haseul, she was sure Hyunjin did all of this on purpose.

"You just kneed me in the fucking balls!" The man shouted. 

"But sir, it was an accident," she whined with a fake little pout. Haseul heard Heejin snort from across the store and Haseul had to work really hard to hide her grin. 

"Fuck this," the man growled, throwing his napkin on the plate, storming out of the restaurant with his food untouched. Luckily, none of the other customers seemed to notice, and Haseul just stood there with wide eyes. 

"I'll go get Allison," Hyunjin mumbled, running to the back. 

Haseul tried to focus on wiping down a specific part of a specific table, letting her mind process until Allison and Hyunjin came back a few minutes later. Immediately, Allison began to rub her back. 

"Haseul, I am so, so sorry that happened to you, on your first day too. Hyunjin and Heejin described this man to me and we will make sure he _never_ enters our restaurant again." 

"I-it's alright..." 

"It's not alright, Haseul. This won't happen again though. Now, how about you take your first break, alright? Fifteen minutes. I'll go make you some food too. Now, go take a seat at any of the empty tables, and I'll be back." 

Allison rushed to the kitchen and hesitantly, Haseul sat down at an empty two seater towards the back of the restaurant. Haseul noticed that after checking to see nobody needed anything, Heejin and Hyunjin made their way towards her. 

Heejin sat on top of the table Haseul was at and Hyunjin leaned against the table across. Haseul froze, slowly locking her phone and putting it back in her back. 

"Dude, I'm sorry about that guy. That really sucks, and on your first day and everything..." Heejin spoke. 

"Yeah. I promise we don't get guys like that too often. I mean, it happens occasionally, like at every workplace..." Hyunjin added. 

Haseul looked between both of them in surprise. She thought they didn't like her. Why were they over here? 

"Anyways," Heejin continued, flashing her beautiful grin. "We are, like, so excited to have you here! We never get new people, you know? The last summer waitress just graduated and started prepping for college..." 

"And you seem like a good employee. Which is good. Sometimes Allison just gets people, and then they're just on their phone the whole time and never do fucking anything but Allison is too nice to fire them and we just have to suffer with them for the whole summer. So, yeah." 

"Welcome aboard the team," Heejin finished, holding out her. Slowly Haseul smiled and shook it. These girls weren't cold at all, in fact, they were totally sweet. 

"This place is actually pretty great. Our other friends have told us about their jobs and they sound so shitty," Hyunjin added. 

"So you guys grew up here?" 

"Yup, born and raised in Egret Cove. How about you? It's really weird seeing a fresh face," Heejin said. 

"Oh, I'm staying with my grandma and cousin for the summer. I live in Morrisville." 

"Ooh," both girls said simoultaneously. 

"Makes sense. Everyone knows everyone here," Heejin answered. Hyunjin got up from her spot on the opposite table, making her way over to Heejin. She wrapped her arm around her waist and snuggled in to her shoulder, leaving a small kiss on her neck. Heejin giggled and Haseul just stared at them in surprise. 

"Oh, and I hope you don't mind lesbians. Because we are super lesbian. Together," Heejin said, a little awkwardly but there was still that veneer of cool on her, of both of them. 

"O-Oh, no way, no way. I don't mind. Because, well, um, I happen to be lesbian myself." 

"Ugh! I knew you were cool," Hyunjin cried. 

"Absolutely iconic," Heejin added, just as Allison came back and put a beautiful plate of pancakes and eggs in front of her. 

"Here's your food...let me know if you're ever hungry and I'll cook you something up, as long as it's slow, of course. I'm sure you know not to overuse the free meals, alright?" 

"This looks incredible...and will do, Allison," Haseul answered, smiling up at her boss. 

"Alright girls, have fun. And don't forget about the customers!" Allison affectionately spoke before heading to the book. 

Haseul smiled, from Allison to her amazing looking food to her new coworkers. This was going to be great. 


	7. Chapter 7

Haseul thought it was a little weird that she got a day off as soon as her first day of work ended. But she wasn't complaining: it meant that she had a consistent schedule, every week working the same days, and that she had a little break to process her new job. 

Other than the sexual harrassment in the morning, her first day had gone wonderfully. She'd had, like, three meals (during the slow hours Allison just stuffed the girls full of food), Heejin and Hyunjin had taught her how to properly run food from the kitchen to the customers (instead of just her cleaning tables the whole shift), and she got to know Heejin and Hyunjin a little bit. Her first impression, from what she could tell, had been completely wrong: Heejin and Hyunjin were super nice, and definitely not intimidating. All in all, she had definitely lucked out with this job. 

Haseul's grandmother was excited, but nobody was more excited than Yeojin (partially because her cousin got a cool job, partially so she could get discounted food from the restaurant). But, Yeojin was also excited Haseul had the next day off: Haseul could tell her fears of her being gone all the time were put to rest. 

And of course, they were using this day off to go to the beach. 

By this point Haseul didn't really feel the need to sleep in much any more, since she didn't have much to do at night so she finally slept early, and every day she was getting up early. So when she was dressed and ready to head to the beach, she threw open her door: but Yeojin wasn't standing in front impatiently. 

"Yeojin?" she called down the hall. The tiny ten year old burst from her door, looking at Haseul with just as much confusion as Haseul was looking back at her with. 

"You're ready? Already?" 

"Yup!" Haseul answered proudly, stepping out with her hands on her hips. 

"Huh." Yeojin walked over and Haseul followed her to the doorway, grabbing all of their usual beach supplies and flip flops before heading out. "You're finally starting to get onto my schedule. Maybe this whole job thing was a good idea." 

Haseul smiled at that as the odd pair walked down the middle of the road, like always. She was really excited: it had all been fun before, but now today at the beach, and this evening just relaxing in her room, would be all the more sweet now that she couldn't do it every day. 

Haseul turned to look at her ten year old cousin. Haseul's hair was black, naturally so, as was the rest of her family's. Yeojin was the only one with lighter hair, more of a fairly fair brown shade. Haseul figured it was from spending all of her childhood at the beach, out in the sun. Also, she _had_ seen Yeojin do that age old trick of putting lemon juice in the hair and sitting out in the sun to lighten it, and Yeojin _definitely_ smelled like lemons every day. Haseul held in a chuckle; she could imagine that as soon as Yeojin got a bit older (and grandma allowed it), Yeojin would start dyeing her hair. 

One thing that Yeojin did have that was just like the rest of their family was her height. Literally everyone in their family was short, men and women. Haseul was even taller than her mom, and not all that much shorter than her dad. Haseul had been 5'2 since she was twelve and had not grown an inch since. Poor Yeojin was 4'0 and ten; if she was to follow Haseul, she only had a few more growing years left. Haseul wished her the best of luck, in that department. 

Haseul was one hundred percent sure Yeojin was going to grow up pretty. But that didn't matter one bit, in the future but especially not now. She was an undeniably cute kid though, even in that space in time between child and teenager, dressed in her matching minecraft hoodie and shorts, her favorite electric orange swimsuit underneath. She had a cell phone and a cheese plate package in her frog backpack but she also still kept toys in there. Haseul knew that sort of in between stage well, but Yeojin was handling it with grace, far more than she herself had. 

She was smart but smiled a lot, and was bright and actually funny, as not irritating as a ten year old could be with a personality as loud as Yeojin's. Haseul knew that there was somberness somewhere in Yeojin's heart. Just coming here, it was obvious she had quite a bit on her shoulders for a ten year old, not to mention the trauma that must have been the very first of Yeojin's memories. But Yeojin didn't show it. In fact, there hadn't even been a glimpse at it since Haseul had arrived. Haseul wasn't sure what to feel about it. 

Haseul just hoped Yeojin always kept her spark. 

Yeojin finally noticed Haseul absentmindedly staring at her and made a face. "What?" she whined. 

"You're a good kid." 

"Ugh, shut up." 

Haseul chuckled and Yeojin slowly joined her, the two falling back into that beautiful, comfortable silence they'd established once again. 

Haseul turned her eyes from her cousin to world around her. It was stunningly sunny today, as it almost always, not even a cloud in the sky. The light reflected some, not all of the windows lining the road. Most of them were a little dirty, their houses painted long ago: blues and greens and pinks, muted with age, but it was so much better that way. She could see people's art on their walls and inside their houses, through the windows, the kind of art people did themselves, that maybe wasn't the prettiest, but they could be more proud of it than any distinguished artist's print. The screen doors were dusty and as the girls passed, dogs barked and windchimes chimed and the sound of waves brushing the shore carried over from a little distance and dreamcatchers attached to the tops of porches blew in the breeze. An older couple waved hello as they passed, dressed in their swimsuits and button up shirts, all the way unbuttoned, rocking back and forth on their porch. Sand littered every corner and crevice, the drains and the doorways. Everyone had a lawn but no one tended to it. The natural plants grew as they wanted and it looked pretty, it looked right. 

She was sure her mind had never been clearer than this summer; the scent of the sun and ocean air just kinda did that. 

Haseul was desperate to know how this almost perfect little town was _completely_ trampled by tourists, at this point.

"Where are you going? We're here!" Yeojin called, shaking Haseul from her thoughts. 

"O-oh, sorry." 

"Hurry up!"

She followed her cousin down the shaded path, sandwhiched between the two houses. 

"The lady was selling lemonade yesterday. But you missed it." 

That genuinely did make Haseul a little sad. 

"Guess I'll have to come on all my days to make sure I don't miss it again." 

And with a few more steps, they were there. 

Our Beach. Haseul was no less stunned by it than the first day they'd came: the clean, clear, empty, shore, with its pure sand. She had no idea what laid at either end of the banks. And that water, cool but never too cold (as she knew from putting just her feet in that one time), clear and clean, just like everywhere else. She was terrified to keep a photo of this place, lest it gets spread everywhere, and too many people come and ruin its beauty. So she just tried to save the picture of it in her mind, to keep it forever. Haseul was sure she could do it. 

Her and Yeojin stepped into the soft warm sand, the ocean breeze filtering through her cozy button up, padding their way over to a good spot to lay down their blanket. Yeojin pulled out that cheese plate and a tiny container of three grapes, and Haseul sighed. 

"We should go to the grocery store again soon. Is that all the fruit we have?" 

"Yup," Yeojin answered. 

"We just went though!" 

"Come on! This is the first time in forever we have logical food in the house. Grandma and me have been snacking all the time." 

Haseul looked around as Yeojin got their snacks out of her bag. There was only one other group on the beach, a few older ladies hanging out in beach chairs, holding glasses full of cocktails, chuckling by the water. But Haseul noticed a lone figure come out from the entrance to the beach: a guy, dressed in red swim shorts the same color as Vivi's, walking towards the lifeguard tower. 

Haseul watched him as he began a short conversation with Vivi, _finally_ looked at her crush: she hadn't wanted to be staring the whole time, she didn't want to seem desperate. 

But she knew she was as soon as her eyes landed on her perfect face that she was. A whole day without seeing her had kind of hurt, in a way. But seeing her now, she was reminded of her absolute prettiness. She matched that term in every sense of the word; everything she was, was soft delicacy. Her round eyes, gentle sloping nose, petal pink lips, small and gentle fingertips, standing just an inch or so taller than Haseul, dark brown hair, up in that ponytail with side pieces poking out that perfectly framed her delicate face. Haseul could just hear her soft, slow voice in her mind, and she could smell the scent of the ocean and cherry blossoms that radiated off of her.

Haseul noticed that the guy replaced Vivi in the lifeguard seat and Vivi came running down the steps, stopping with a small smile in front of where Haseul and Yeojin had settled themselves. 

"H-Hi!" Haseul stuttered. 

"Hi," Vivi answered with a shy little giggle. 

Yeojin looked at Haseul, then Vivi, then Haseul, then Vivi. "I'm...gonna...go...in...the....water...now...you kids have fun!" She threw a sly wink to Haseul before dashing for the waves. 

Haseul and Vivi watched her and chuckled a bit before Haseul turned back to her crush, a little confused. She cast her eyes to the lifeguard stand. 

"Oh, that guy? Me and my coworker agreed to split shifts now. It means sometimes I have to do his shifts at the touristy beaches, but now I can chill out here in the afternoon." 

"Oh, really? D-Does this mean you don't have to go back up in like five minutes?" 

"Yup! I'm free now." 

The two girls smiled at each other awkwardly for a moment before Haseul perked up. 

"Oh! Sit down!" 

Vivi slowly sat down on their blanket and Haseul sat beside her. 

"Where were you yesterday?" 

Haseul briefly and barely processed the fact that Vivi noticed her absence before speaking. "Oh, I got a job." 

"Congratulations!" Vivi genuinely answered. 

"Thanks." 

The two girls fell into sort of an awkward silence: not the awkwardness of incompatible people, just the awkwardness of not knowing the other, and being almost too shy to get to know them. But fighting through it, and enjoying their company anyways, because something inside Haseul told her it was worth it. 

Vivi turned to Haseul, a sort of nervous expression on her face. "Is there a reason you don't go into the water?" 

Haseul chuckled uncomfortably. "There's kind of a lot of reasons, actually." There were the ones that were legitimate: she wanted to keep an extra eye on Yeojin, and of course she couldn't swim. And there were the ones she knew were kinda stupid, like not wanting to be in just her swimsuit in public. But that was a little personal to share with Vivi. After all, how long had they known each other?

"Do you mind sharing them?" 

Haseul chuckled, again. "Well...the main reason is that I don't know how to swim." 

"Oh!" Vivi looked at her in surprise. Haseul guessed it was a rare thing to not be able to swim in a town like Egret Cove. "But didn't you say you came here as a kid?" 

"Yeah? And I would play in the water a little then. But I never went all that deep, and once I got to around middle school age, I stopped going in. So I kinda forgot everything I used to know, what little of that there was." 

Vivi nodded slowly, her cute ponytail bouncing. "Um...well...would you like to know? Since you're here for the whole summer and all..." 

Haseul thought for a moment. Yeah, she felt awkward in just her swimsuit...but was it worth not being able to go into the water ever? What if she ever felt comfortable in her swimsuit but couldn't get in because she never learned? What if one day she had friends and they wanted to hang out at the beach or a pool and she didn't know how? 

So...yeah. She did want to know how to swim. 

"I would, actually. I really would." 

Slowly, Vivi smiled at her. "I could teach you." 

Haseul's eyes widened. "I'd love that! I'd love it so much!" She answered before she could think. 

Who could be a better teacher though? Sweet Vivi, who was literally a lifeguard, who probably knew better than most people how to swim well. And of course, it just meant extra time with her crush, especially now that Vivi got more afternoons off. Yeah, she'd have to deal with the whole swimsuit thing...but she couldn't back out now, could she?

"Next day off, I'll teach you?" 

Haseul grinned at her. "Next day off."


	8. Chapter 8

As a town with perpetually sunny weather (in summer at least), Egret Cove could not handle itself when the weather got cloudy during the supposedly sunniest months. 

It wasn't even that cold: Haseul had just worn a long sleeve top, a thin one even, and full length pants, and she was more than fine. The locals, however, were a complete mess: Haseul noticed the streets even emptier than usual, and a young adult taking out the trash had on just about three sweaters. Literally _nobody_ was out. 

So, she wasn't all that surprised that when she walked into Allison's 24 Hour, the only people inside were Hyunjin and Heejin. The teen couple were both dressed in heavy sweaters, leaning on the table and looking half asleep and half awake. Looking through the back window, she couldn't see a single person at Our Beach. 

"Yo," Haseul said, tying on her apron (even though she didn't really have to) and making her way to her coworkers. 

"Yooooo," Heejin groaned back. Hyunjin's eyes fluttered shut and she leaned her head on Heejin's arm. Haseul quickly clocked in then made her way back to them, sitting on the third seat at that table.

"Late night?" Haseul asked. 

Heejin shook her head. "Nah. It's just...cloudy." 

"I know. Everyone's acting so...weird." 

"Cloudy days here are kinda treated like snow days in places with normal weather. Everyone just stays inside all day, makes hot cocoa and cinnamon spice tea, and watches movies. 

"I'm gonna be honest. It's really not that cold." 

"We know, we know," Heejin answered. "To be honest, it's kinda humiliating having an outsider call us on this." 

"We're not supposed to be here," Hyunjin moaned. "We're supposed to all be at home watching Ghibli movies." 

"So...does that mean it'll be slow today?"

Hyunjin gave her a deadpan look. 

"I'll be pleasantly surprised if three people come in," Heejin answered. 

Just then Allison burst out of the back, carrying three mugs in her hand. She set them down in front of the girls; Haseul peeped in and saw it was hot chocolate, steaming at the top, complete with mini marshmallows. 

"Ladies, I know it'll be slow today, but I'm gonna need you all to stay in case of a lunch rush, until about one o'clock, alright? Then you can all go home." 

"It's no problem Allison," Heejin answered with a genuine smile. 

"Would some breakfast make it better?" 

"Of course!" Hyunjin exclaimed, sitting upright for the first time since Haseul came in. 

Allison chuckled. "Alright...pancake breakfast special for Hyunjin, french toast for Heejin, and for Haseul?" 

Haseul had peeked through the menu last shift in case she got asked this question again. "Waffles!" she cheerfully answered. 

"Alright dearies, I'll make those right up for you." 

"Thank you!" the teenagers all called off to their boss as she went back to the kitchen. 

"So you're a waffle kind of girl?" Hyunjin asked once Allison left. 

Haseul nodded. "Yeah. They're definitely my favorite breakfast food...like, the kind you can only get in a restaurant." 

"I feel like with the three of us...we complete the circle of sweet breakfasts," Hyunjin said. 

Heejin nodded very seriously. "Agreed." 

Haseul chuckled a little and looked around. "Isn't there anything we could do?" 

Hyunjin shook her head and took a sip of her hot cocoa, smiling after. "Nah. Heejin and I start an hour before you so we did everything we could. We can just chill now." 

Haseul nodded and the three girls looked around awkwardly: it was only Haseul's second shift at the restaurant after all. 

"So...how old are you again?" Heejin asked.

"I'm sixteen, but I'll be seveteen in august." 

"So you're gonna be a...senior next year?" 

"Yup! How about you guys?" 

"We're both fifteen, but my birthday is in October and Hyunjin's is in November. So we'll be juniors this year," Heejin answered. 

"Ahh. What's it like going to school around here?" 

Heejin and Hyunjin let out a simoultaneous groan. "Well, high school just sucks in general." 

"Oh, of course." 

"But it's worse because we have to go to high school in Bells Hills," Hyunjin added. 

"Bells Hills?" 

Heejin sighed. "The next town over. There's not enough kids in Egret Cove to have a high school here." 

"Oooh..." 

"Yeah. Bells Hills sucks," Hyunjin whined. 

"Is it a beach town too?" Haseul asked. 

Heejin nodded. "Yup. It's beaches are a bit nicer than the ones here. Other than Our Beach, of course. So the whole town has a little bit more money, and it shows." 

"You know how all the beach houses here look all...rustic?" Hyunjin asked, and Haseul nodded. "Well, like five years before we were born, pretty much all of Bells Hills collectively decided to tear down all their old beach houses and build these fancy...things. Fuck, they are _so ugly_ too. I think it says a lot about the difference between our town and theirs." 

"So are all your classmates, like, rich kids?" 

"Yup. They think they're so great because they live in fuckin' Bells Hills," Heejin responded. 

"Egret Cove people are just....different," Hyunjin added. 

Heejin hummed. "The Bells Hills kids look down on Egret Cove. Always saying it's time for an upgrade and that Bells Hills should just absorb Egret Cove..." 

"There's no way that would ever happen though," Hyunjin continued. "The old hippies would riot. As they should." 

Haseul smiled and chuckled at that. She'd never been to Bells Hills, but without a doubt she was on Heejin and Hyunjin's side of things. 

"How about you? What's your high school like?" Heejin asked. 

"You're from....Morrisville, right?" Hyunjin added. 

"Yup. Just...the suburbs. It's a pretty typical suburban high school. Morrisville High is the only high school in the area, but our town isn't that small. So there's a lot of people at my school. It's just...yeah. High school sucks no matter what, I think." 

"Do you at least have a solid group of friends?" Hyunjin asked. 

Heejin nodded at her girlfriend. "Yeah...like most of the student body of Bells Hills High sucks, but we have each other, and the rest of the kids from Egret Cove. I think I'd die without them." 

Haseul thought for a moment. Well, there was Jungeun and Jinsoul...but did she consider them her friends? And did they consider her their friend? 

"Well...I have a couple of acquaintances. But...not friends, really." 

"Wait, what?" Hyunjin cried. 

"That's just weird. You're fucking cool. I can't imagine you not being popular or at least having a solid group of friends..." Heejin spoke. 

Haseul flushed and looked away. They were just being nice. No one would ever _really_ mean that. 

"Aww, guys...it's okay. You don't have to say that." 

"Fuck no! We do have to say it!" Hyunjin said. 

"How...how could that have happened?" Heejin asked. 

Haseul sighed and looked down at the table. There _was_ a reason for all the stuff she was going through now. But was it too soon to reveal all of that to Heejin and Hyunjin? They barely knew each other, after all. But the truth was, she already felt pretty close to them. And it wasn't like a deep secret, or anything she had done wrong. It was just memories, a few years old but still a bit painful. 

"Well...in middle school I got bullied pretty bad. I _definitely_ did not have any friends then. So when high school came around, I didn't have any friends that carried over. My bullies decided to leave me alone once I got to high school, luckily. No apology of course, but it was better than nothing. But...it's been kind of hard to make friends since that." 

Hyunjin and Heejin both looked at her with so much sympathy and empathy Haseul thought she would cry, and she looked at the slightly sandy floor sharply. 

"That's...that's so horrible. Haseul I'm so sorry," Heejin said, and Haseul was sure it was genuine. 

"It's just so...damaging," Hyunjin continued. 

"If you don't want to talk about it anymore, that's totally fine. But we're also here to talk about it whenever you need," Heejin finished. 

"Really?" Haseul asked. This was the first time anyone had expressed something like this to her. Well, it was the first time Haseul had opened up to anyone about this issue. But for her to be met with support the first time she did made her smile, even at those horrible memories. 

"Of course!" Heejin cried. 

"If you don't mind me asking...what exactly was it all about? If you don't mind me asking, of course," Hyunjin asked. 

"Well..." Haseul started. "I guess you could say it was because I was the girl in my grade who was the slowest to...develop, physically and mentally. I still looked like a little girl, all the way through graduation. I still liked playing with toys, and I definitely did _not_ like boys. So...I didn't have a lot in common with my classmates as we got older. I guess that made me seem different to them...like an easy target. I was a nerd, a dork, but not in the cool way. I didn't know the so called right way to dress or do my hair or listen to music or talk. I was ugly, and weird and they took notice. As bullies do." 

"I'm sure you weren't ugly or weird, at least weird in a bad way. I have a feeling they didn't all truly feel that way about you either. So I hope you don't feel that way yourself," Hyunjin spoke. 

Haseul sighed. "I used to...but I don't, really, anymore." That was sort of a lie. But this was turning into a pity party for herself, and she didn't want Hyunjin and Heejin to feel any worse about her.

"That's good, at least. Because you're not," Hyunjin firmly spoke. 

"I think middle school sucks for everyone though. Maybe not worse than high school for some. It has been for me...but I think both of those sets of years just have to suck. For character development." 

"You didn't deserve it to that point though. Nobody does," Heejin answered. 

Haseul shrugged. "True, true." 

Hyunjin sighed. "Ahh...middle school." 

"How was it for you guys?" Haseul asked, just trying to get the attention off of herself. 

Heejin and Hyunjin shared a look. "People picked on us too. Not to the extent you were, we still had other friends and each other, of course..." Heejin explained.

"You guys went to middle school together?" 

Heejin and Hyunjin shared a laugh. "We've been together since birth. All the parents in Egret Cove know each other. Before preschool they take their kids in groups to the beach, then there's the preschool, and the elementary school...everyone just knows each other." 

"Is there a middle school in Egret Cove?" 

Hyunjin shook her head. "Nope. We've got an elementary school but that's it. We had to go on the bus to Egret Cove every day, since nobody could drive..." 

"I think that was the worst part," Heejin mumbled. 

"Once high school started, we were able to get rides from upperclassmen that lived in Egret Cove too," Hyunjin explained. "But not in middle school..." 

"The bus was just horrible. Most people got rides from their parents but the people who were on the bus just wanted to make our lives horrible. It was better at school with supervision, but the school bus had, like, no adults on it, and the bus driver just did not care about us." 

Haseul shuddered herself, remembering the horror of the mornings and afternoons on the school bus. It truly _was_ one of the centers of all the bullying; by eighth grade her parents had to drive her to and from school. 

"I totally understand that." 

But what Haseul didn't understand was _why._ Heejin and Hyunjin were friendly, nice, and not to mention gorgeous. She couldn't imagine them being anything else. In middle school, Haseul had seemed like a perfect target. But she couldn't imagine Heejin and Hyunjin being one, unless the entire student body had been jealous of them, and picked on them rather than making them popular. 

"What was it in your case?" 

Heejin and Hyunjin shared another look. "It was the fact that we were together." 

"Oh," Haseul answered. She couldn't imagine having the courage to be totally out in middle school. She'd already been bullied enough as a closeted lesbian. 

"We basically popped out of the womb best friends. As we got older we just got closer, and closer, until by, like, fifth grade, it was us being a couple, not our barbies," Hyunjin explained. 

"It started off as one of those little kid relationships. But it kinda just...lasted? I dunno, it's weird. But it's been nice, even though it was rough in middle school," Heejin added. 

"We just...we didn't see the big deal about it. So when people in middle school tried to talk to us about boys, we just told them the truth. And...I guess that made us a target," Hyunjin finished. 

Haseul frowned as Allison returned from the kitchen, a smile on her lips as she set all of their plates of food down. 

"Oh thank god," Hyunjin said. "I need this now. We were talking about middle school; I need something to perk me back up." 

"Don't even think about those years," Allison answered firmly. Haseul could see it in her mind: her being Heejin and Hyunjin's supporter and confidant during those difficult times. "Eat your breakfast, and remember that you are so much more than those days and what those people thought of you. All of you," she spoke, turning to Haseul too. "Remember for me, alright girls." 

Hyunjin nodded seriously and Heejin grinned up at her. "Always." 

It was clear that both Hyunjin and Heejin took Allison's words, that philosophy to heart. Maybe, it was time Haseul did too. 


	9. Chapter 9

It was a few shifts in, and Haseul was finally getting into the swing of things at Allison's 24 Hour. 

Her, Heejin, and Hyunjin had set up a sort of daily routine: during the busy hours, they designated who would take cash, who would be the main food runner, and who would help with food running as well as prepping milkshakes and helping customers that needed it. During the slower times, they decided which cleaning and restocking tasks belonged to which girl. 

All in all, Haseul would say it was the chillest job she'd had ever had, and probably the chillest job she'd _ever_ have. Unlike her other places of business, there weren't a million and one different little things she had to think about. Plus there wasn't the worries of opening and closing shifts as there _were_ no opening or closing shifts. 

There were two best parts: one of which was the food (Allison gave them all their employee meal as well as snacks during slow hours and sometimes even stuff to take home). The other best part was Heejin and Hyunjin: almost overnight, the couple had become her best friends. 

Probably, the second best part was the customers. Although Haseul had that bad customer experience on her first day, nothing like that had happened since. Instead, the patrons were very different: families out for lunch after the beach, older couples on breakfast dates, old friends eating together as part of a weekly tradition, groups of teens just hanging out and needing cheap food. Allison and Heejin and Hyunjin knew every one of them, and more often than she would have expected, Haseul found herself introducing herself, by name, and shaking hands. She'd only felt like an outsider for a minute; through short conversations she established herself as a pseudo-local, and the customers welcomed her with open arms. Whereas before, she'd felt like she wasn't part of the 'our' in Our Beach, now she felt like it was her right to go visit the beautiful shore. 

But of course, she had only been there a few days. There were things she still had to learn and get used to as an employee of Allison's 24 Hour. When she walked in that morning, going to the back to clock in, she learned of her next new skill. 

Allison approached Haseul and gave her a smile, rubbing her back. "Good morning dearie." 

"Good morning!" Haseul answered, happier to clock in at work than she'd ever thought she could be. Well, Allison's warm presence in the morning always made it easier. 

"Today I have a new task for you." 

"Uh?" 

Allison gave Haseul a gentle smile. "Today Heejin is going to teach you to use the cash register." 

"Oh, awesome," Haseul answered, and she meant it. It would be nice to do that job occasionally; sometimes doing food running on your feet all day got tiring after a while. 

"So when you get to the front, just go behind the counter. I think it's gonna be on the slow side so Hyunjin can handle food running." 

"Thanks Allison!" Haseul let the clock in machine punch in her time and she set her slip into the little plastic container. 

"My pleasure," Allison answered, and they went their separate ways. 

When Haseul came back to the front, awkwardly standing behind Heejin at the counter. Her coworker flipped around, her long, thick dark hair flipping prettily behind her, and smiled. 

"Morning Haseul!" 

"Hey Heejin." 

Hyunjin, in a break between running food order, came scampering over to them like a kitten. 

"G'morn, Has!"

"G'morn, Hyun." 

Both girls giggled loudly and Hyunjin reached over the counter to peck Heejin on the lips. 

"What are you doing over here anyways?" Hyunjin asked. 

"I'm teaching her the cash register." 

Hyunjin grimaced. "Good luck." 

"It can't be that bad, right?" 

"Well..." Heejin mumbled in her low voice. Hyunjin shrugged and went back to the counter to bring out more food to customers. 

Heejin checked to make sure there was a lull in customers before turning to Haseul. 

"I've ran a cash register before, you know. When I worked at Carl's Junior..."

Heejin chuckled. "Oh, no no no. This is nothing like that." 

She tugged Haseul in front of the cash register and Haseul realized...there was no computer. It looked _so_ old fashioned, with just a little screen with numbers. Haseul had worked with those registers with screens before, but never with a kind like this. There wasn't even a place to swipe cards, instead there was a little attachment beside it for that purpose. 

"Oh," she spoke. 

Heejin laughed. "Oh is right. It's...actually not so bad, once you get used to it. When people use credit or debit cards it's pretty annoying. And it can be sorta janky. But luckily Allison always knows how to fix it, and most locals just use cash anyways." She pulled a dirty yet laminated slip of paper from underneath the register, displaying the menu. "This has all of the prices on it. So basically you just punch in however much it is with these numbers." Heejin demonstrated by punching in 5.00, the price for a plain stack of regular pancakes. "Then you press this T button, for tax. And then you press this big button down here!" And that opened the register, displaying all the cash.

"That doesn't seem too difficult." 

"In some ways, it isn't. I mean, once you've worked here a while you kinda start to memorize the prices of everything. Just...the major issue is debit and credit cards. Oh, and you see how the drawer just opened as soon as I pressed the button? I'd say about...twenty-five percent of the time that doesn't happen." 

Haseul grimced. "Oh...I see." 

"Yup." 

"And then I write it all down on the little notepad here and bring it to Allison." 

"Oh I see." Haseul paused. "Wait...what if someone wants to alter or add ingredients?" 

Heejin snorted. "People rarely change the set menu. But if they do...I'd say add it to the paper and bring it to Allison. But I don't know how much Allison would like that...unless they've got, like, a dietary restriction, you might wanna try and talk them out of it." 

Haseul laughed a little. "Okay, okay."

"I know, it's a little weird. Allison is like the chillest person in the world, except with her food. It's good, and everyone knows it. Unless you're, like, vegan, or can't do lactose or gluten, or have religious food restrictions...you should just trust Allison. Oh, and nothing on the menu is even remotely spicy. Trust me. We don't even _have_ chili flakes in the kitchen. So if someone asks, tell them that. And if a customer says their food is too spicy...that's kind of their problem. But, you know, almost everyone's a regular. You won't get too much shit." 

Haseul gave her a smile and looked over the counter again. "What about card payments?" 

"Ugh!" Heejin cried. But she hunkered down and explained the long, and frankly annoying process of dealing with card payments: from the order of inputs to the card reader and main cash register, to the way you had to bend the cards to even get the machine to register them. By the end, Haseul was thoroughly confused. 

"I...that might take me a while to get." 

Heejin grinned. "I understand. I won't leave you alone to deal with that." 

"Why wouldn't Allison just make it cash only?" 

Heejin sighed. "Because she's like that." 

Haseul laughed at that and looked over everything one more time. "The cash seems fine though." 

"Yeah that's no problem." 

Suddenly, Hyunjin walked over to the two girls and slumped on the counter. 

"Everything alright?" Heejin asked, petting her girlfriend's hair. 

"Big group," she panted. "But all food is brought up." 

Heejin and Hyunjin shared a smile that had Haseul seething with jealousy (and desperately thinking of Vivi) when the restaurant door swung open, a big group of middle school aged boys in flip flops and puka shell necklaces stepping in. 

"Ready to take your first orders?" 

Haseul grimaced. "I guess." 

~~~~~~~~~~

A few hours later, and Haseul was in the swing of things. She had mastered taking cash very quickly, enough that Heejin could leave her alone to take care of it while she helped Hyunjin run food (and stole kisses from her when the customers weren't looking). Haseul did still have to call Heejin back for card payments, but she thought it was good progress for her first day. 

Now, though, it was the slow hours. Almost no one was in the restaurant, not even a coffee drinker with a laptop (Haseul soon learned that Allison's 24 Hour did not, in fact, have wifi). So, all of the girls turned when they heard the doorbell ring. 

"Haseul!" A shrill, childish voice yelled. Haseul sighed and her eyes widened; it was Yeojin. The old man in the corner made a face at the ten year old before turning back to his paper. 

"What are you doing here?" Haseul asked. 

Yeojin pouted and flopped down at a table. "I'm bored."

"So you decided to come bug me at work?" Haseul asked, taking a seat next to her. 

"What else was I supposed to do?" 

As Yeojin and Haseul bantered, Heejin and Hyunjin came from the back of the seating (technically the girls were supposed to take their breaks one at a time but Heejin and Hyunjin always went together, and Allison obviously didn't care). 

"Wait, is this your cousin?" Heejin asked Haseul. 

"Yup." 

Yeojin gave them each judgmental stares, looking them over before nodding in approval. "You guys seem pretty cool." 

Heejin and Hyunjin shared a warm chuckle. "I'm glad to hear it." 

"Aren't you gonna introduce us? Gosh, so impolite..." 

Haseul rolled her eyes dramatically. "Alright, Yeojin, these are my coworkers, Heejin and Hyunjin. And Heejin and Hyunjin, this is my cousin Yeojin." 

Yeojin stood up and looked each of them in the eye (quite a distance to look up because of her height), shaking each of their hands. 

"Oh! A strong grip," Hyunjin mumbled as they stopped. 

"How old are you?" Heejin asked. 

"Ten. I'm going into middle school last year," she answered as if that was the biggest accomplishment a person could have. "You two?" 

"We're fifteen. We're going to be juniors." 

"Oh...so Haseul's the hag of the bunch." 

"Hey!" Haseul whined as Heejin and Hyunjin laughed out loud. "Come on. Did you really just come here to bug me?" 

"Kind of. I also came to pick up pancakes for grandma." She pulled her frog backpack from the back of her chair onto her lap, pulling a pile of one dollar bills from it. 

Just then, Allison and her patchwork skirt emerged from the back. "Yeojin! Oh, how wonderful to see you." 

"Hi Allison," Yeojin sweetly answered, the two sharing a hug. Haseul looked from Heejin, to Hyunjin, to her cousin. It was obvious just how much Allison did for the young women of the Egret Cove community. 

"Are you here to pick up something to eat?" 

"Yup!" Yeojin gathered up some of the ones, not bothering to count, and handed them to Allison. "Five pancake stacks please! One with chocolate chips!" 

"Oh dearie. Don't worry about it." Allison stuffed the money back into Yeojin's tiny palm. "Haseul's been working so hard here that's she's definitely thoroughly paid for your food." 

"Thank you Allison!" Yeojin chanted as Allison ran her fingers through Yeojin's hair and went to the back to make the food. 

"I told you me getting a job would be a good idea," Haseul mumbled to her cousin with a smirk. 

"Yeah, yeah," Yeojin answered before sighing and flopping on the old wood table. "It's so empty here. Isn't it boring?" 

"It's only like this part of the day," Hyunjin explained. "Most of the time it's pretty busy." 

"Anyways, it's fun when you've got such cool coworkers," Heejin added. 

Yeojin looked knowingly between Heejin and Hyunjin. "Are you guys dating?" 

Heejin and Hyunjin shared an awkward chuckle. "Um...yeah?" Heejin answered. Clearly neither expected that question from the ten year old, but Haseul knew it was coming. She knew Yeojin far too well at this point. 

"That's cool. You guys just have lesbian energy. You know, Haseul's a lesbian too. So you all can relate about that." 

Haseul face palmed and sighed. Thank god she already came out to Heejin and Hyunjin. 

But the teen couple seemed pretty unphased, just giggling at the ten year old. 

"I guess we can," Heejin answered. "But we get along for other reasons as well." 

"Oh! Do you guys also simp for lifeguards?" 

"Fuck," Haseul whispered to herself, still facepalming. 

"Lifeguard?" Hyunjin said, her and Heejin giving her a _look_ that made Haseul just _know_ Heejin and Hyunjin would launch a full investigation on it. 

But Haseul was lucky enough that it was the moment Allison decided to give Yeojin her food. Yeojin politely thanked her and Allison went to the back, and Haseul stared at her cousin expectantly. 

"Aren't you gonna go home now?" 

"Uh, nope? I'm just wait around here for a few more hours." 

"Oh, you can stay!" Heejin cried. 

"Please stay with us Yeojin," Hyunjin added. 

"Alright, fine," Haseul finished. "You can stay. It's slow anyways." 

"You know I was gonna stay here no matter if you gave me permission or not, right?" 

Haseul sighed deeply and Heejin and Hyunjin laughed at her. "Right." 

And when that night, Haseul received a text in her group chat with Heejin and Hyunjin, from Hyunjin, that read:

_yeojin is adorable and has a galaxy brain. heejin and i have decided she is our daughter and our little sister and also our cousin._

Haseul couldn't say she was surprised. That was just Yeojin's power. 


	10. Chapter 10

It was Haseul's day off, so of course her and Yeojin assumed they would be going to the beach. But they were stopped in the middle of breakfast by their grandmother slowly making her way into the kitchen. 

"Hello ladies," she spoke with a soft smile. "What's on the menu today?" 

"Leftovers from Allison's 24 Hour," Yeojin answered. "Want me to heat some up for you?" 

"I'm okay, thank you sweetie." 

Haseul was a little confused. She hadn't actually seen that much of her grandmother since she had come; they all ate dinner together but that was it. Typically, her grandma got up early (by like 6 am) and went to bed early (by like 8 pm), which was the exact opposite of Haseul's schedule. Usually, she just read books or called people in her bedroom. By the time Haseul woke up, her grandmother had started her day. Once a week some of her friends came over as well, but Haseul was always either at work or with Yeojin at the beach. 

She was dressed in one of her simple floral night dresses, which she seemed to have an endless supply of, some grey slippers to match her short, greying hair. On days when she was seeing people Yeojin did elaborate styles for her but today it was just brushed back, simple and easy. She still smelled like nice perfume though, the same brand she would wear when Haseul was a child. Despite the many scents of the beach: the ice cream, the salt water, the sunscreen, the snacks, the sand, Haseul could always pick out her perfume, and she still could. 

"Do you girls have any plans today?" she asked, standing with one hand clutching her cane. 

"I don't have work..." 

"Would you like to spend some time with me? I slept terribly last night and I want to read my book, but I don't think I can keep my eyes open for long enough..." 

"Of course!" Haseul's heart clutched for a moment and she wondered if her grandmother was upset that they weren't spending more time together, since she was visiting and all. But she could only feel guilty for a moment. The older woman always had the power to put people at ease; even at her aunt and uncle's funeral, Haseul remembered her grandmother managed to get all the attendees from tears and silence to low chuckles and reminiscing. And spending the afternoon reading to her absolutely did not feel like a chore.

"Haseul's probably a better reader than me since she's a teenager and all." 

"Don't be to sure," their grandmother answered. "Yeojin's a good reader."

Yeojin mumbled under her breath and hid a smile. Haseul remembered that kind of compliment well from her own childhood: a little embarrassing, but you couldn't help but be proud of yourself. 

"Finish your breakfast and take your time; I'll be in my room when you're ready." 

"See ya soon grandma!" Yeojin said loudly. 

Their grandmother returned with an affectionate smile to both of them and slowly made her way back to her room. 

Once she was gone, the girls finished off their breakfasts, and Haseul took their dishes to the sink. 

"Grandma asks me to read to her sometimes," Yeojin said, putting her feet on the table as Haseul cleaned up. "It's not so bad. The books she likes are not as boring as you'd think, and she falls asleep pretty quickly. But sometimes my voice gets tired. So we can take turns." 

"I think it'll be fun," Haseul answered, putting the dishes in the dishwasher and wiping down the table. Yeojin grumbled and made a pouty face when she had to move her feet. 

She finished up and Yeojin stood. "Ready?" 

"Yup." 

As the girls made their way down the hall to grandmother's bedroom, Haseul realized she had barely gone through this half of the house since she'd arrived. Her room was towards the front, near the kitchen, main bathroom, and living room, so she never had the need to go down this way. 

She had felt this way in the front of the house but the feeling was stronger here: it _definitely_ felt like a typical grandmother's house. Landscape prints and old photos of family covered the walls, baby pictures of family Haseul could name, and family she couldn't. Everything was a clean cream and the veneer of dust was palpable on her fingertips, on her tongue, but she couldn't quite _feel_ it. The carpet was grey and soft beneath her toes. It smelled empty, like warmth and like the windows had been closed for a long time. The only sound was the squeak of grandmother's old rocking chair, back and forth, back and forth. 

It was all a touch dated, lost in time, stuffy and unchanged. Everything felt stifling with its age and just how long it had all _been_ there, how little difference there was over the years. 

Haseul couldn't imagine being a little girl in a place like this. Not lifeless, but its life was fading, its life climaxed long ago. 

They were almost there, and they passed by an open door: Haseul quickly realized it was Yeojin's room, since she hadn't been inside since her last visit. She couldn't help but take a peek. 

What a contrast from the rest of this house! The door to the outside was white but the otherside was...Haseul couldn't tell but it was covered in stickers, the walls painted an uneven orange, clearly done by an even younger Yeojin. She had a very old canopy bed, decorated with vintage looking star wars bedspread and piles of frog stuffed animals so high Haseul wasn't quite sure where Yeojin slept. It smelled like bath and body works japanese cherry blossom perfume and sour patch kids. Haseul could see a large pile of toys in the corner, hidden under a desk which a large old fashioned PC computer sat on top of. Presumably, this is where Yeojin did all her minecraft playing. 

It was weird to think all that Yeojin was, was restricted to this crazy kid's bedroom. 

"Stop spying," Yeojin whined softly, tugging Haseul away from the door. Haseul smiled sheepishly as they, finally, entered grandma's room. 

As a child, Haseul had not been allowed inside this space. But it didn't look much different from the rest of the house: the old photos, the old decor, pretty and all a little faded. There was a vanity and an old fashioned landline phone and a rocking chair, which their grandmother sat on. She had her phone out, and Haseul saw she was playing candy crush. 

"Oh hello girls," she said, putting her phone down on the table beside her. Yeojin wordlessly got up and pressed the lock button for her.

Yeojin and Haseul sat on their grandmother's bed and she slowly got up, handing Yeojin a paperback. 

"Here you go." She quickly took her seat in the rocking chair again, leaning back with a little exhale. Haseul could practically feel the creak in her bones. 

Yeojin bounced a little on the bed. "I'll start," she said, and opened the mystery novel. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Yeojin had been right: their grandmother had fallen asleep after reading only a few chapters; Haseul only even had to do one, at the end of the day. Both girls fell silent and peeked over the book, just to make sure, nodding to each other when they were sure she was snoring. Yeojin put the bookmark in the book before turning to Haseul.

"You miss Vivi don't you," Yeojin teased. 

"Wh-what? Who said that?" Haseul answered. "Why is this coming up now, anyways?"

But it was true. She'd had fun spending time with her grandma. But missing a day at the beach kind of stung. She wondered if Vivi had missed her too, the very thought striking through her heart.

"You did. You're so obvious. I can tell by the angsty, longing look in your eyes." 

"Yeojin....come on..." Haseul whined, followed by an uncomfortable chuckle. Yeojin gave her a look and she sighed. "Fine, I do. But that's...ridiculous. I barely know her. We, like, just met, and we've barely ever talked, for only a few days. So...it's stupid. And she's just...she's pretty and kind and is a freakin' lifeguard and she's perfect! What else was I supposed to do, not like her?" Haseul sighed. "You can't tell anyone. I _know_ you were about to mention it to Heejin and Hyunjin the other day, and... I have a feeling gossip in this town spreads like wildfire, and they're only two years apart in age...they might know each other! If she finds out...you're in big trouble." 

Yeojin hid a pout with a snort at Haseul's empty threat. "Of course I won't tell anyone. And I won't bring it up to Heejin and Hyunjin anymore either, unless you tell them. You know, I'm here to discuss this with you, woman to woman. Not to spread any gossip." Yeojin added. "But the real question is...what's the problem with her finding out?" 

Haseul absolutely spluttered. "Um, ruining a burgeoning friendship with weird romantic feelings that there's no way she'd ever return? Humiliation?" 

"Actually, I've been analyzing her and I think she likes you back."

Haseul laughed sadly. It was nice to think that Yeojin thought a girl like Vivi could like her. "There's no way." 

"I didn't think so at first either...but I analyzed, Haseul. I analyzed. I used the scientific method, and she may like you."

"What?" Haseul cried. "Stop making things up. I know what a trickster you are Yeojin but this is a little mean." 

"I'm being serious!" Yeojin whined. "You should ask her to be your girlfriend already." 

"No. No no no no no," Haseul firmly answered.

"Yes yes yes yes yes!" Yeojin answered.

"Come on. You're ten but I'm sure you realize it's a little soon for that. May I remind you that we have barely spoken?" 

"I've been a relationship before. Have you?" 

"...no," Haseul shamefully answered. "But minecraft relationships don't count." 

"Oh, I agree. I dated someone at school. For two months." 

Haseul remembered those little kiddie 'relationships' from when she was in elementary school, that her friends always had. But...it was more experience than she had. 

"Okay maybe you do know a little bit..." 

"Exactly. But okay, fine. I acknowledge that you two don't know each other that well. So, just ask her on a date then. I'm sure she'll say yes to at least that." 

Haseul snorted and shook her head. There was something clawing at the back of her mind, telling her that maybe, Yeojin was right: she knew this town, she knew Vivi, and obviously she knew more about relationships (or whatever a ten year old considered relationships to be). 

But that was ridiculous. Yeojin hadn't even started _middle school_ yet. What did she know? She didn't have real experience. But Haseul had real experience in this, falling for someone who didn't, couldn't like you back. Or even just see you as an attractive person. 

"Anyways...I thought you were close with Heejin and Hyunjin. Don't you trust them to keep your secret?" Yeojin piped up, pulling Haseul out of her thoughts. 

Haseul sighed. "I do. I do really like them. They're so cool." That was the truth of the matter: they were cool. And Haseul wasn't. It was just the issue with all of her friendships, inequality and insecurity twisting everything. There was no way Heejin and Hyunjin could like her as much as she liked them. And why would they hold Haseul's secret if they didn't care?

"Then what's the issue? It might be even better! They probably know her and could set you guys up." 

Haseul sighed. She could see a repeat of the conversation she and Yeojin had over Jinsoul and Jungeun coming. But this was the road they were going down, and Haseul felt powerless to stop it. "I don't think they like me all that much." 

Yeojin groaned loudly enough that Haseul checked to see if grandma was still asleep before Yeojin collapsed backward on the bed. 

"What?" Haseul whined, a tone quieter this time, gesturing to their grandmother when Yeojin sat up a little. 

Yeojin sighed. "They. like. you." Her voice was quieter than before but firm. 

"How do you know?" 

"I could tell! When I visited your work. It was obvious that you three were having fun together. When I went there before I never saw them have that much fun with the other employees." 

"I don't know..." 

"Well I do know!" she sighed. "Haseul...you're smart. But you're also kind of an idiot sometimes."

Haseul sighed. At least that was probably true. "You're right." 

"I mean about these kind of things." 

"These kind of things?" 

"Yeah. These kind of things." 

Haseul hummed and looked at her lap. She didn't know if she believed _that._

"Look. Just...keep having fun at work, alright? I think it'll make sense one day," Yeojin said, pulling out her phone. 

"Okay," Haseul answered, ready for this conversation to be over. She took out her own phone and saw one notification: from her group chat with Heejin and Hyunjin. 

Maybe it would make sense. One day. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi everyone! sorry for the slower updates recently. i meant to update this fic every other day, but....i havent. i'm going to try to go back to that and make it up with a few extra updates over the next few days.
> 
> i have to admit, writing this fic is a bit hard. precisely the point of this story is for it to be slow moving, and with less of a plot and more introspection, which is exactly what makes it difficult to write sometimes. so if you have any ideas for this fic, please comment them! they might make it in <3
> 
> do you guys like it so far, or not? please let me know in the comments and thank you so much again for everything!
> 
> -RainbowDonkeys


	11. Chapter 11

Haseul's part time work had such good hours that sometimes, it felt like she didn't work at all. 

It really felt like that on her second day off in a row. And she was beyond excited: she'd had fun the day before reading to her grandmother and chatting with Yeojin. But today, her and Yeojin are going to the beach. It would be so lovely to sit under the shining sun, relaxing and eating snacks, but most of all, it would be lovely to see Vivi. 

Haseul had been embarrassed yesterday when Yeojin mentioned it, but she had been right: she missed Vivi, and she missed her a lot. It _was_ stupid to have such a crush on a girl she really, barely knew. But Haseul didn't think she could help herself if she tried. 

The high school senior pondered all of this as she got ready to go, being sure to slip her one piece swimsuit before she put on the rest of her clothes. She hadn't forgotten Vivi's promise to teach her how to swim, and hopefully Vivi remembered as well. The more Haseul thought about it, the more she was fine with being seen in her swimsuit, if it meant spending some extra time with Vivi. Our Beach was normally empty anyways. 

After throwing her things into her bag, Haseul opened the door to see Yeojin standing in front with her small hand poised to knock. 

"Ready?" 

"Of course!" Haseul answered with a big grin. Yeojin smiled too, and the girls headed out of the door. 

It was one of the most beautiful and sunny days in a long time, and Haseul could feel the joy in herself. There was nerves coursing through her about the swimming and the swimsuit in public and the trying something new for the first time thing, but there was _excitement_ there too. It was the first time she'd felt this way in a while. What was it? Was it the prospect of seeing Vivi? Of course it was, but Haseul knew it was more than that. She just couldn't place quite what _it_ was. 

And before she even noticed, her and Yeojin had arrived. 

Our Beach's beauty never failed to stun her, gazing out over the softly crashing waves and the cream sand and the deep blue, clear water. She tossed her shoes off and exhaled as she dipped her toes between the warm sand, before running after Yeojin down the shore. 

Yeojin flopped into the sand and sighed. 

"Yeojin," Haseul whined, without an inch of frustration in her tone. "You're gonna get all sandy. Put down the sheet first." 

"Fine, fine," she jokingly answered, pulling the sheet out of her bag. There was a slight breeze, bringing comforting cool into the shining bright sun of the day, but it didn't hinder the girls from setting down the sheet. The girls took a seat down, Yeojin rapidly opening her bag to get out the snacks: frosted animal crackers and chex mix (they'd gone to the grocery store recently). 

"It's good to be back," Yeojin said as she stuffed a handful of chex mix into her mouth. 

"Yeah," Haseul answered, and her eyes turned to the lifeguard tower. 

Vivi was talking to the same male lifeguard from the other day, clearly passing off the shift. But her and Vivi locked eyes, and the smile that bloomed on Vivi's face at her gaze practically sent her into a _frenzy_. She kept her cool, only to avoid some teasing from Yeojin (which would inevitably come anyways), but damn it was hard with Vivi's beach swept hair and easy smile on her. 

And Vivi and the other lifeguard _finally_ stopped talking and he _finally_ sat down and Vivi _finally_ came racing down from the tower to where Yeojin and Haseul had set up. By the time she reached them she was breathing heavily from running, but there was a massive smile on her face. 

"Hi," she spoke, before realizing _maybe_ she'd been a bit overeager. She stood up straighter and giggled a little at herself. 

Yeojin made an amused face but Haseul did not notice Vivi's overenthusiasm; she just matched it with her own excitement. 

"H-Hi," Haseul stuttered back. 

Yeojin stuffed a final handful of chex mix into her mouth and stood up. "I'm going into the water! Have fun ladies." 

Vivi and Haseul said quick goodbyes to the ten year old before turning back to each other. Some of that shyness that always managed to happen around a crush returned, now that it was kind of just the two of them. But Haseul wouldn't call it awkwardness. 

"W-wanna sit?" Haseul asked. 

Vivi perked up a little. "Yeah!" 

And the two sat down on that sheet, staring out at the ocean and Yeojin swimming in the water, trying to come up with what to say. Haseul knew it wasn't because they _didn't_ have anything to say: it was just them. 

"Want a snack?" 

"Oh, I'd love one." Vivi grabbed a large handful of the frosted animal crackers and Haseul grabbed the chex mix for herself. 

Suddenly, Vivi fell quiet and stared down at the crinkly bag. "I missed you," she mumbled. 

Haseul felt her face and heart burst into flame. Her nerves were thrumming under her skin and she...she couldn't believe it. It was more about the _way_ Vivi said it: like it was serious. Like she meant it. 

"I-I missed you too..." Haseul managed to answer, and Vivi gave her the most brilliant of smiles. 

~~~~~~~~~~

When the sun was at its highest point in the sky, Vivi turned to Haseul. 

"Do you remember when I asked you if you wanted swimming lessons?" 

Haseul vigorously nodded. "Of course!" 

"Well...are you still down?" 

"Totally!" 

"Great," Vivi said. "Are you ready?" 

"Yup." 

Just then, Yeojin splashed her way out of the water and ran back to wear the girls were. 

"What's up?" 

"I'm teaching her how to swim," Vivi explained. 

"Oh thank god," Yeojin groaned. "She can finally stop being boring and come play with me." 

"Will you be alright here on your own?" Haseul asked. 

Yeojin made a face. "Um, duh. Anyways, the lifeguard is here." 

"We have to watch the shore and the water. Don't worry, she'll be fine," Vivi explained.

"Anyways, I come here by myself all the time. For the millionth time, I am _not_ a baby." 

"Alright, alright," Haseul said with a chuckle. 

"Are you just nervous and procrastinating?" Yeojin teased. 

"Uh, no," Haseul said. But she was lying. 

It had all been fine when she was on her way but now that it was actually time...she was incredibly nervous. Why had she agreed to do this with _Vivi?_ She was really just allowing herself to look like an absolute fucking idiot in front of her gorgeous crush, who was actually _good_ at this. It would be nice to spend more time with her and get to know her (and see her do something she was good at). But was all that worth it? 

And that wasn't even _mentioning_ her body issues. The last time Haseul had been willing to go out in public in just a swimsuit was before she hit puberty, when she was just a little kid. It was just so uncomfortable. There weren't many people out; if it was packed on the beach Haseul would've considered cancelling the entire thing. But even those few people made Haseul a little uncomfortable. They weren't even looking at her: they were far too busy doing their own thing. But part of her didn't want anyone to see her in her swimsuit. She just, kind of felt....ashamed. 

But she couldn't go in the water in her clothes, right? They would get all wet and gross, and she couldn't swim, and that would probably just draw more attention to herself anyways. 

At least she was wearing a one piece, right? Even if it wasn't the cutest swimsuit, she was as covered as she could be. 

So, with a deep breath, she tore off all her clothes and ran into the water. She reached there in just a few seconds and breathed a sigh of relief; when she was in the water, nobody could see her body. But then, she tensed again. 

"Fuck!" She cried. Haseul had forgotten just how cold ocean water could be. She hadn't been in this much in so many years, most of her body surrounded by the water, and it was jarring: the seaweed lapping at her toes and the water lapping at her shoulders. Honestly, Haseul knew it wasn't _that_ cold. But compared to the air and because of how long it had been since she'd been in this situation before, she was shivering

"Wait for me!" Vivi yelled to her, and laughing loudly, she splashed into the water herself. Without hesitation she dipped her head under the water, getting all of her hair wet. And she didn't look stupid in the slightest; in fact, she looked like an absolute fucking mermaid. Haseul didn't know if she could do that just yet. "How is it?" 

At first, it had been totally jarring. But after a few moments in....it was starting to be nice. Still jarring, but in a nice way now. The water was cool and refreshing compared to the warm air, and Haseul felt _so_ alive. 

"It's really nice," Haseul honestly answered. 

"I know. The water here is pretty great. Nice and clean and cool. Sometimes, you get in at a beach somewhere and you can feel it's kinda dirty, or you can feel just how many people are in the water."

Haseul hummed and let her fingers ripple through the water. 

"So...first thing you're gonna have to do is get your hair wet," Vivi said, and Haseul groaned loudly, making a pouty face. Vivi gave her the _softest_ of smiles before continuing. "I know, I know, it seems kinda scary and gross. But you're gonna have to go underwater at some point, and you won't feel weird about it later. Plus, I think it makes you warmer." 

Haseul took a deep breath. "You're right, you're right," she mumbled. 

"Do you want to go together?" 

"Are you gonna just pretend to go under and laugh when I come up?" 

"No way!" Vivi cried, laughing softly. "I'm not Yeojin." 

Haseul laughed at that. "Alright, alright." 

Vivi grinned. "Ready?" Haseul nodded. "One, two, three!" 

And on three, Haseul ducked her head under and came right back up. When she opened her eyes, Vivi was just as wet as she was, her hair dripping on either side of her face. 

"How was it?" 

Haseul laughed. "Totally fine. I don't know what I was fussing about." 

"Don't feel bad about it. It's a weird thing," Vivi answered. "But I'm glad you feel better. Do you think you're ready to start learning?" 

Haseul's body insecurities were gone for the moment, hidden by the mass of the ocean. She wasn't so embarrassed about not knowing; Vivi didn't seem to care. In fact, she was _so_ nice, enjoying helping Haseul get more comfortable in the water. So...yeah. She was as ready as she could be. 

"Yeah, I think I'm ready." 

"So...how much _do_ you know?" 

"Nothing." 

"Nothing? Not even treading water?" 

"Nope. I don't even know how treading water works." 

Vivi chuckled, but it wasn't judgemental. It was more comiserating. "Then I guess I know where we'll start." 

~~~~~~~~~~

"Fuck," Haseul whined loudly. They had been at it for a while, but still, nothing. Haseul knew she was bad at a lot of things, but it turns out swimming was _really_ hard. She still hadn't even gotten the hang of treading water. How would everything else be later on. "I fucking suck at this." 

"What? No you don't," Vivi answered, going underwater again to check Haseul's form. Despite Haseul's absolute miserable failure, Vivi had been endlessly patient. Haseul felt as though she didn't deserve any of it. 

"Yes I do! I can't even tread water." 

"Stop. Take a break," Vivi said and Haseul breathed a sigh of relief, letting her feet rest on the sand below. "You know, nobody's good at first." Vivi put her hand on Haseul's arm and it was cold and wet but Haseul felt better immediately. "Nobody's good at anything at first, I think. But as long as you keep practicing, you're gonna get better. I promise. You just have to keep going and not letting failure at first get you down. You know, how long have we been working at this?" 

Haseul hummed. "An hour?" 

"Yeah! Only an hour. It takes time to learn things. So there is no reason you should feel bad, or that you should be better at this point. Just let yourself be. Let yourself take time, okay?" 

Haseul sighed softly. Vivi's words were like a salve on her burned heart and her twisted up stomach, releasing her tension, and humiliation, and worry that she'd always just be bad at this sort of thing. 

It was so interesting about Vivi...she'd known her for such a short amount of time, but she seemed to have all this power over her: not in a bad way, of course. But Vivi had the power to make her feel all kinds of ways: lovestruck, shy, happy, okay. But there was some currrent running under every interaction she and Vivi had. Something that always made her feel okay. Like even if she embarassed herself, Vivi wouldn't leave her alone. Something that made her feel like she could always, always be herself, and not lose the things she wanted the most. Something that made it okay to go into the deep blue of the ocean, completely unknowing how to deal with it, with Vivi by her side, as protection. 

What was the word? 

Haseul smiled a little. 

Safe. Vivi made her feel safe and Vivi herself felt _safe._


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am....so sorry. i know its been a long time (more than two weeks, oops!) since my last update so...again, i am very sorry. i was on a little vacation but now im back! i could have updated during that time but im hoping that a break will jog my creativity and will to update. i hope you like this chapter and as always, let me know what you think! comments are my fuel to keep on updating. now...lets get on with it!

The one problem with work was that she couldn't see Vivi. 

There was no way Haseul was going to get up way before her shift just to go to the beach (and why would she ever let Vivi see her ' _i just woke up'_ face?). And Vivi was normally gone by the time Haseul finished her shift. Yes...Haseul had checked once or twice. 

Maybe it was for the best, Haseul thought. Seeing the gorgeous lifeguard every day would probably just make her crush bigger, make her more invested than she already was. It probably wouldn't be healthy. This whole thing was unhealthy enough as it was. 

But, Haseul just could not help but miss her. Working at that old fashioned cash register, bringing food out to customers, sweeping the place, eating her employee meals and chatting with Heejin and Hyunjin, nothing could stop Vivi's face from popping into her thoughts ever so often. Haseul did acknowledge that it was probably a little too much. That even on the off chance that Vivi liked her back, it wasn't quite like this. But it was a true distraction, the best kind of distraction possible, that could only really be cured by Vivi's presence. 

So, she had to conclude that the problem with work _was_ no Vivi. 

Until, it wasn't a problem anymore. 

The door to Allison's 24 Hour jingled in the mid afternoon, when the place was dying but not quite dead yet. Haseul looked up from her sweeping, ready to welcome this new customer in with her overly cheerful service voice, when she froze. 

It was Vivi. 

Vivi clearly seemed surprised to see her there as well, as she was frozen still in the restaurant's doorway. 

Haseul just _stared._ It was a beautiful day out, the bright and fading sun bathing Vivi in light from the entrance. The light sparkled through her freshly dyed, orange sherbert hair and Haseul was completely fucked. 

It was kinda strange, Haseul thought, seeing Vivi like this. It was the first time they weren't at the beach and while Haseul was used to and practically mad over lifeguard Vivi, with her high ponytail and bright red swimsuit, around the town Vivi was gorgeous too. Her hair was down, falling softly over her shoulders, and Haseul was amazed that anyone could look so _good_ in just a t-shirt and sneakers and an a-line skirt.

Haseul knew it had been mere seconds, but it seemed like hours before either spoke. 

"Hey!" 

"H-Hi," Haseul stuttered, her awkwardness permeating throughout the restaurant. Haseul could hear quiet yet obnoxious giggling coming from a corner of the restaurant and she held back a deep, _deep_ sigh for fear of Vivi thinking it was directed at her. But, of course, Heejin and Hyunjin had to notice whatever...this was. And of course Yeojin had to mention that Haseul 'simped for a lifeguard' (her words, not Haseul's, despite how true they were), and Haseul just knew Heejin and Hyunjin knew Vivi and knew she was a lifeguard and therefore knew that Vivi was the object of Haseul's affections. 

Therefore, the teasing would start today and it would _never, ever stop._

"I didn't know you worked here..." 

Oh. Yeah. Vivi. _Vivi was here fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck-_

Haseul chuckled. "Yup. This is my job." 

"I can see that." 

The girls fell silent and Haseul absolutely scrambled for words until she _finally_ managed to be a functioning person for one single second. 

"You came here for food, right?" 

Vivi giggled. "I mean...why else would I come?" 

"Then let me ring you up." 

VIvi was still and silent for a moment before giving Haseul that _brilliant_ smile of hers. "That's...probably a good idea." 

Haseul heard Hyunjin snort and gave the girls the most subtle, secretive glare she could manage. It only made this whole thing feel more weird but still...Vivi was here. She was glad. 

Haseul bounded back behind the counter and gave Vivi a grin, as big as her customer service smile but _so_ real. Vivi looked her over for a moment before returning with a smile, clearly returning it. 

"What can I getcha?" 

Vivi hummed. "How about...two orders of chicken tenders?" 

"Ah, a good choice," Haseul said as she punched the price into the cash register. "Anything else?" 

"Should I get a strawberry milkshake?" 

"Of course!" 

"Are you sure?"

"Come on, Vivi. Treat yourself." 

Vivi smiled. "Alright. Add in a strawberry milkshake for me." 

Haseul rang her up completely and gave her crush her receipt, running to the back to give Vivi's order to Allison to make. 

"What's with that big smile?" Allison asked with a sly grin. 

"N-Nothing," Haseul answered. 

Allison just gave Haseul a knowing look and took Vivi's order from her fingers. As soon as she could, Haseul went back to the main seating area. Vivi was already waiting at an empty seat. Haseul peeked at Heejin and Hyunjin whispering in the corner of the restaurant, looking back and forth between Vivi and each other. Haseul ignored them, glancing over the restaurant to make sure nobody needed help, before going over to where Vivi sat. 

"Can I sit with you?" 

Vivi gave Haseul a look. "You don't have to ask." 

Haseul took a seat next to Vivi, both girls looking between the shiny tables and the kinda dirty floor. 

"It's crazy that you work here. This place is an institution," Vivi said quietly. 

"I really liked it here. Everyone's so nice." 

"Going to Our Beach...working at Allison's 24 Hour...you're really getting the Egret Cove local experience." 

"Oh I'm glad. Egret Cove is a sweet place. With sweet people," Haseul said, giving Vivi the slightest of glances. 

"These days I'd..." Vivi now gave Haseul more than a glance, a real solid look. "I'd have to agree." 

And Haseul _flushed._

"Sticking around?" Haseul asked, as soon as she could muster the courage, with probably a little too much excitement than was necessary. 

But by the way Vivi deflated, for a moment her huge emotions seemed merited. 

"No," Vivi answered with one of her pretty soft sighs. "I promised my mom I'd bring the food back right away for us to eat." 

Haseul deflated too. 

"Well...alright." 

Just then Allison came out of the back, paper baggie in hand. 

"Here you go sweetie," Allison said to Vivi, giving her one of those motherly grins she was so good at. "My goodness you've gotten pretty." 

Haseul had to agree, but Vivi blushed _fiercely_. "Thank you, Allison." 

"Wait, how did you know she was doing take out?" 

"She almost always does," Allison answered. "I heard her voice from the back. But Haseul..." 

Haseul sighed. She always had a hard time remembering to ask if they were eating it there or taking out.

"Sorry!" Haseul whined, and one smile from Allison told her it was more than forgiven. 

Vivi got up and frowned, looking down at Haseul. "I guess I gotta go now." 

"A-alright..." 

"But I'll visit sometimes." 

Haseul perked up a ridiculous amount. "Really?" 

Vivi gave her a dazzling smile. "Really." 

The two girls did that thing where they just looked at each other for a while, not speaking, just staring, almost in a daze. Finally, Haseul shook herself out of it (when she heard Heejin and Hyunjin snorting from the corner, again). 

"Well...I'll see you around!" 

"See ya," Vivi answered with a giggle, and left the restaurant. 

As soon as the door shut, Heejin and Hyunjin pounced. 

The couple quickly slid into the seats at the table where Vivi just sat, across from Haseul. The soon to be senior sighed. She knew this was coming, but she couldn't exactly say she was ready. 

"How do you know _Vivi_?" Hyunjin asked in a sly voice. 

"How do _you_ know her?" Haseul answered. 

"We go to school together," Heejin explained. "She's two years older than us so we're not super close. But we're acquaintances, and everyone knows she's super cool." 

Haseul, being the exact opposite of cool, winced. 

"Now, explain," Hyunjin firmly spoke.

"Me and my sister go to Our Beach a lot and she's the lifeguard there. She said it was weird to see new people in town and introduced herself to me, and since then we've been...friends." 

Yeah, Haseul felt like she could describe Vivi as a friend, at this point. It was far from her _ideal_ relationship with Vivi, but it's more than she could ever ask for, than she ever could have imagined. 

"Vivi? Shy as hell Vivi, introduced herself to you? I wasn't sure, but now I do know she's as whipped for you as you are for her," Hyunjin teased. 

Haseul chuckled awkwardly. "What are you talking about?"

Heejin and Hyunjin gave her the most 'duh' look possible. 

"You're not exactly subtle, my dude," Hyunjin said. 

"Although neither is she," Heejin added. 

"Wait...was Vivi who Yeojin was talking about the other day?" 

"Hyunjin!" Haseul whined; she could only take so much of this. 

"Sorry, sorry," Heejin mumbled. "But you do like her, right?" 

Haseul sighed. She didn't think she could get away with lying: either the couple would immediately uncover her as a fool, or she'd get exposed later on, and her tentative friendship with the girls would be ruined. 

"Fine. Yeah, I do." 

"Knew it," Hyunjin mumbled, and Heejin gave her a withering look. 

"But it's not as easy as that," Haseul continued, ignoring her friend. "First of all, I literally have no idea whether or not she likes girls. Like...I have _no_ clue." 

"Well that's easily fixed. Just ask if she listens to girl in red," Hyunjin interjected. 

"And do it sooner rather than later. If she turns out to be straight-" 

"AKA if she doesn't at least know who girl in red is," Hyunjin interrupted. 

"So if she turns out to be straight," Heejin continued. "Just leave her be." 

"Stay far away," Hyunjin finished. 

"Stay away? Even if she is straight I'd still wanna be friends," Haseul spoke. 

Heejin and Hyunjin shared a look. "Damn. You really do like her," Hyunjin mumbled. 

"And here's the other problem. Say she does like girls: what then? Just because we _could_ like each other doesn't mean she _would._ And I do think the chances of her liking me back are pretty low." 

"I dunno about that, she was looking at you in a certain way when she grabbed her food just now..." Heejin spoke lowly. 

"And she introduced herself to you! That's pretty surprising for her. She must've been struck by your beauty and been unable to resist." 

"Don't tease me, Hyunjin." 

"I'm only kind of teasing. I swear. I know your situation with her is far from hopeless." 

"How do you guys even know what she looks like when she likes someone? You both did say she's only your acquaintance." 

Heejin and Hyunjin shared another look. "With the way she was looking at you, it would be obvious on anyone," Heejin explained. 

Haseul sighed. "Guys..." 

"We're not saying that you should leap onto the tables and scream that you're in love with her next time she comes into the restaurant," Heejin started. 

"Actually, I think Yeojin would say that's a good idea," Haseul interjected. 

Heejin and Hyunjin laughed before Heejin continued. "But you should at least find out of she likes girls or not. If you know she could be interested you, then pursuing her won't be as scary." 

"Who ever said anything about pursuing her?" 

Heejin and Hyunjin sighed, and Hyunjin put her face in her hands. "This is going to be a disaster; I can see it already."

"You're not gonna pursue her," Heejin continued from Hyunjin. "And if I know Vivi, I know she probably won't pursue back." 

"And then the whole summer you two will just be pining after each other with nothing to show for it and then you'll be sad and angsty and she'll be sad and angsty and- ugh, it'll just be a disaster," Hyunjin finished. 

Well...Haseul could kinda see that. At least on her end. But as for Vivi, she just couldn't be sure. To her, it seemed like friendship was all Vivi wanted. And there was no way in hell Haseul was going to risk that friendship for some stupid feelings on her part. 

"That's it," Hyunjin spoke up after a second. "I guess we'll have to get involved." 

"Wait, what?" Haseul cried. 

"You're right babe," Heejin answered. "We'll team up with Yeojin and help them get together." 

"TEAM UP WITH YEOJIN?" 

"Brilliant. It's settled," Hyunjin spoke. 

"Must it be?" Haseul whined. 

"You just have to figure out if she likes girls or not," Heejin said. 

There was a lot Haseul didn't think she was capable of, especially concerning Vivi. But that...maybe that she could do.

"Alright, _fine._ I'll figure out if she likes girls, okay? But that's it. And I don't want to find you two scheming away." 

"It's a deal," Hyunjin answered. 

"Girls!" A voice cried from across the room. Pulled out of their conversation the girls all looked to the source of the noise: Allison, standing in front of the kitchen. And at the counter was a _very_ angry looking gentleman. 

"I've been waiting ten minutes," he grumbled. 

"We are so, so sorry!" Haseul cried as the girls all got up and raced to help him out. 

"He could've said something," Hyunjin whispered to them, and Haseul giggled. Maybe the girls really did have her best interests at heart. 


	13. Chapter 13

As if Vivi's visit the day before, and Heejin and Hyunjin's pestering (not to mention Yeojin's once she got home; somehow Heejin and Hyunjin had gotten the ten year old's number and had begun to update her on all things Vivi related) hadn't shaken her up enough, Vivi's visit the next day just about _blew Haseul's mind._

It was much later in the day, just a few minutes before Haseul's shift finished, when she and Heejin and Hyunjin were doing their last bit of cleaning and the people on the next shift were coming, when Vivi pushed the door open. Haseul just looked at her in pure and utter shock, but the smile on Vivi's pretty lips seemed to say that she'd come in on purpose, all for Haseul. But that couldn't be, right? 

"Hey!" Haseul said, a little too loud. 

"Hey," Vivi answered with a soft giggle. "Working again today?" 

Haseul chuckled. "Yup." 

The seventeen year old barely spared a glance at Heejin and Hyunjin who were, again, furiously whispering in the corner, and bounded behind the counter. "What can I getcha?" 

"Strawberry milkshake." 

Haseul cocked her head. "No food today?" 

"Nope. But that strawberry milkshake was so good yesterday that I needed another." 

_Vivi had come not to take food home to her family...so maybe...maybe she came for Haseul? No way,_ Haseul reasoned in her head, _she just wanted a milkshake. Of course. Just a milkshake._

"Alrighty. I'll get that right out for you." 

Vivi started digging through her bag for cash but Haseul shook her head. 

"It's on the house." 

"Really?" Vivi asked, and Haseul knew that _that smile_ was absolutely worth this risk. 

"Of course! Don't worry about it." Haseul would worry about it, in fact, she'd find a way to slip some of her own cash into the register. Allison was probably cool with this little friends and family discount but Haseul was one to go by the books and anyways, she felt guilty. 

Well, it was kinda like she was treating Vivi to a milkshake. She just didn't know it. 

"How much longer do you have until your shift ends?" 

Haseul took a peek at the wall clock. "Just five minutes, actually." 

"Oh! How nice."

The girls momentarily fell into that sweet awkward silence once Haseul finished taking everything down. But suddenly, Haseul felt Heejin and Hyunjin harshly bump into her as they made their way to the back to gather their things. 

It wasn't a rude bump. Haseul knew exactly what it meant: they had been listening in to her and Vivi's conversation, and they want her to ask to hang out. 

They were friends, right? Maybe Haseul could do that. 

So, she took in a deep breath and looked up at Vivi. 

"Are you doing anything after this?" 

Vivi smiled expectantly and shook her head. "Nope!" 

"W-well...once I get off work, could I maybe walk you home?" 

Haseul hadn't quite had the courage to fully ask Vivi to hang out but this was a start, and by the way Vivi's smile bloomed even bigger, she was glad she did it. 

"I'd love that!" 

Haseul looked around uncomfortably for a moment before managing to return the smile. "A-alright! Um...I-I'll get ready! And get you your milkshake." 

"I can't wait." 

Holding back an obnoxious squeal Haseul darted into the back, giving Allison the strawberry milkshake order before grabbing her things as quickly as she could pick them up. 

"So?" Hyunjin asked as soon as she was there, the other two girls taking their stuff as well (albeit at a lower speed). 

"I'm gonna walk her home," Haseul explained with a proud grin. 

Heejin gave her a back pat. "Honestly, I'm proud of you." 

"We're proud of you," Hyunjin added. 

Haseul gave them a small smile. "Thank you thank you thank you!" 

"You're so excited; it's so cute," Hyunjin cooed. 

"Yeojin said you were whipped and she was absolutely right," Heejin added. 

"Hey!" Haseul whined. 

"But _clearly_ she's just as whipped as you are. She came back the very next day to see you after discovering you worked here." 

"Hyunjin, don't do this. She just wanted a milkshake, alright?" 

"The milkshakes are good, but not that good," Hyunjin rebutted. "She came here for you." 

"I-I don't know about that..." 

"You could tell just by the way she looked at you!" Heejin cried, and Haseul immediately looked panicked, shushing the girls. Heejin and Hyunjin shared a look that Haseul purposefully ignored. 

Haseul made a face as she stamped her clock out sheet. 

"Stop trying to force me to get my hopes up," she spoke with almost no malice, only what was necessary. 

"Stop trying to force yourself to get your hopes down," Hyunjin answered. "You like her for a reason. I don't think your gut is a fool that falls for hets." 

Haseul just rolled her eyes, a smile poking at the corner of her lips, and gave her coworkers girlfriends an eyebrow raise that more effectively said goodbye. 

After finally getting all her things together in an organized fashion, putting away her apron, and darting into the bathroom for a quick touch up (there was only so much Haseul could do appearance wise; it's hard to look gorgeous after working a seven hour shift, but Haseul still let her hair down and reapplied lipstick nonetheless), she went back to the kitchen to grab Vivi's milkshake. 

The only person there was Allison, doing some dishes, with two milkshake cups set by the ice cream fridge. 

"Hey Allison?" The restaurant owner looked up from the large sink. "What's this other milkshake for? The customer only ordered one." 

"It's for you." When Haseul looked extremely confused, Allison continued. "If you're gonna walk Vivi home you don't want to make her feel weird by letting her drink alone, right?" 

"O-oh." Heejin and Hyunjin must have informed Allison about the...situation. 

"Have a good time," Allison spoke, giving Haseul a look that let her know she knew _everything._

"Not you too," Haseul mumbled, grabbing the shakes. 

Allison just chuckled and went back to her dishes, and with a final, incredibly awkward wave, Haseul went back out to the main room. 

Haseul quickly saw Vivi was distracted by her phone so before she noticed Haseul was there, the waittress slipped some of her tip money into the cash register for Vivi's drink before bounding up to the girl of her dreams. 

"Ready to go?" Haseul asked, holding out Vivi's strawberry shake. 

Vivi looked up from her phone and _smiled_ and yes, Haseul knew Vivi did a lot of smiling but it still devastated her every fucking time. 

"Yeah." Vivi slid in her chair and the two girls stood up, heading out of the door. 

"Which way?" 

"This way." Vivi pointed down the sidewalk, away from the highway. 

Haseul smiled. "Me too!" 

"I wonder if we're neighbors..." Vivi mumbled, taking a sip of her shake. "Mmh! Delicious, as always." She leaned over to take a peek at Haseul's. "What flavor do you have?" 

"Chocolate and vanilla. Secret employee special." Haseul managed to spare a shy glance at her intrigued crush. 

"It looks good." 

"Wanna try?" Haseul instinctively asked. 

"Yes please. And have some of mine." 

The girls swapped drinks, as easy as that. But internally, Haseul _freaked._

_Oh my god. She was going to take a sip of Vivi's drink. From the same straw. Where those perfect petal pink lips touched._

_Briefly, Haseul managed to calm herself down. What was she, ten years old?_

_Wait: Yeojin was ten. And even she would think Haseul was being ridiculous._

_So, what was she? Eight years old?_

So not wanting to seem like a weird baby Haseul took a sip of Vivi's strawberry milkshake, and _man_ it was good. Better than any of the ones she had tried from Allison's 24 Hour before. Maybe, it was because it was Vivi's, because Vivi had tasted it already. 

"Wow...that is really good," Vivi spoke, breaking Haseul's slowly mounting pile of thoughts. "Maybe you'll have to give me an exception to try it, even though I'm not an employee. Could you do that for me?" 

"I could do anything for you," Haseul mumbled very quietly. 

_Wait, what the fuck? Oh my god Haseul you idiot you idiot you probably seem insane! No, you definitely seem insane! You guys are friends who might, like, just a week or two ago oh my god-_

"Huh?" 

Haseul breathed a sigh of relief. Vivi hadn't heard her. 

"O-Of course. O-of course I can get you one. J-just ask next time you're in the restaurant." 

"Mmh," Vivi answered. 

And then...silence. 

Sounds filled their walk home, the distant back and forth of the beach waves, wind chimes ringing quietly with the soft ocean breezes, the press of their feet on the sidewalk caked with sand, a child screaming with laughter far away, an old TV inside a house. 

But none of those sounds were Vivi and Haseul talking. 

Quickly, Haseul realized this was the first time they were alone: _really_ alone, not in the restaurant with customer impatience and Heejin and Hyunjin and Allison's prying gazes, or at the beach with swimmers Vivi always kept her eye on and Yeojin a few feet away in the water. No, this time, it was just them. 

Haseul really had so much to say. But deep down, she was _terrified._

"Do you like watching movies?" Vivi quietly asked. It could have felt like an awkward conversation starter but when Vivi said it, the way she said it, it felt like she was genuinely curious. 

"Of course!" 

"Like which?" 

"My favorite movie is But I'm a Cheerleader," Haseul answered. Vivi turned to her pretty sharply and a lightbulb went off in Haseul's head. 

Maybe....Heejin and Hyunjin's ideas from yesterday weren't so bad. Maybe, it wouldn't be totally awkward to figure out if Vivi liked girls or not. 

"I..um...also like..." Haseul searched her brain for the famous lesbian movies she had seen. "I also like Carol! And Blue is the Warmest Color." 

"I...I like those too," Vivi answered, with a gaze that was more than just a normal conversational look. 

But wait...did that mean...did that mean she liked girls? Or just that she liked those movies? They were all good movies, so, it could be that she just happened to have seen and liked those movies, or she was just realizing Haseul was essentially just coming out to her and she was taking that it without doing the same...really, it could be anything. 

Haseul was already on this roll, though. She could keep going; it wouldn't be too much weirder. She could get a more solid explanation. 

"What about music?" Haseul asked nervously. 

"Uh..." 

"Well, um, I like Girl in Red." She spoke over Vivi, looking down at the sandy ground, trying to calm her steadily growing nerves. "And Hayley Kiyoko." Was Hayley Kiyoko still a thing? Haseul still liked her music. "And Teegan and Sara." Haseul knew, like, one Teegan and Sara song, but back when she was a baby gay and watching lesbian youtubers to try and figure out how to even fit in to this community she was now a part of, they all said Teegan and Sara were the girls all women loving women listened to. But that was what, like, three or four years ago, and those videos were already a little old then. Would Vivi even pick up on it? Fuck, she was just looking stupider and being more anxious and weird by the second. 

And suddenly, Vivi laughed. It wasn't mocking, it was laughing with her, not at her, and it _immediately_ broke the building tension in Haseul's mind. 

"Haseul?" 

"Yeah?" 

"I like girls too." 

And after Haseul breathed the most massive sigh of relief she thought she ever had, she laughed too. 

"O-Oh...I-" 

"I'm...glad we're on the same page on that one," Vivi admitted. 

"Y-yeah." Haseul couldn't manage much more. She was still shaky from basically outing herself and Vivi outing herself too and just...everything. 

"Thanks for taking the fall on that one." 

Haseul had to think for a moment to realize what she meant, but when she understood her heart filled with warmth. 

"One of us had to do it," Haseul answered. They didn't need to say the words. Coming out was scary on all fronts, no matter who or where or what. 

She didn't speak the end of her sentence out loud: that if nobody did it, nothing would ever happen. No romance, ever. Not that Haseul would ever have a chance with a girl like Vivi anyways. _God_ it was annoying to be a woman loving woman. 

"Oh! We're here already," Vivi spoke. The girls stopped, and Haseul smiled a little too wide: there was only one house in between her grandmother's and Vivi's. 

"Actually I'm just over here," Haseul answered, pointing to her own house. 

"Really? We'll have to visit each other more." 

"Yeah. We'll have to." 

Vivi and Haseul looked at each other, like usual, for a little too long before Vivi cleared her throat. 

"I...should go...I, I guess..." There was that melancholy look on Vivi's face, like always when they parted ways, and now knowing Vivi liked girls, man did it have more weight to it. 

"Alright. Have a good evening." 

"You too!" Vivi called as she walked to her front door and slipped inside. Ever patiently, Haseul waited until Vivi was safe and sound in her own home before starting the short walk over to her place, whipping out her phone.

_Guys!!!!!!_

_Vivi likes girls!!!!_ Haseul texted her group chat with Heejin and Hyunjin. 

_Congrats!_ Heejin answered first. 

_congrats on finally realizing. the rest of us knew days ago,_ Hyunjin added. 

Haseul glared at her phone momentarily, trying to transfer her annoyance to Hyunjin through the phone. But not even Hyunjin's pestering could wipe the massive grin off her lips. 

Oh man, she was going to get an earful from Yeojin tonight. 


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay it hasn't been quite so long since an update this time?? but i REALLY REALLY want to get back into the swing of frequent updates so sorry for the wait?? maybe you all could leave some encouraging comments....haha, just kidding...unless??? well, really, just kidding. you don't have to comment but I do really appreciate it! now, lets get on with the story. 

Haseul was not sure how to feel about Vivi and her being on the same page now, at least in terms of their sexualities. 

Partly, it was reassuring. Of course, Vivi didn't have to and would never like her back, but at least she wouldn't get freaked out if she did realize how Haseul felt. They could probably remain friends afterwards. Well, Haseul was going to avoid Vivi finding out about her feelings if she could help it. But she didn't trust Heejin, Hyunjin, or Yeojin to fully keep it a secret. Let alone herself; her body language. 

Plus....Haseul truly felt there was a change, something in the air, something palpably different. It was her day off so she, Yeojin, and Vivi were at the beach, of course, Yeojin reading a copy of American Girl magazine from probably back when Haseul had a subscription. Interestingly, it wasn't Yeojin in the water for once: it was Vivi and Haseul beneath the cool waves, and Yeojin out on the beach, watching the stuff. Haseul only sort of minded. 

But today, doing her swimming lessons with Vivi, she could just feel something had shifted since admitting they liked girls to each other. It was tension and release all at once, an energy passing between them that had not existed before. Was it all in Haseul's head? Probably, she thought. But that didn't change it from building up her nerves, or her excitement. 

But _that_ was exactly the reason knowing Vivi liked girls was so, so scary: it gave Haseul hope. This new tension she seemed to be feeling, the idea of Vivi at least possibly being attracted to her, or even just thinking she was pretty in _that_ sort of way....it was ruinous, almost. She could really make herself believe there was a chance when there was none, that there was hope when it didn't exist. And then, she'd just love Vivi more, and Vivi would pull away harder, and Haseul would be completely, utterly, _fucked._

Haseul could not resist, though. She could not resist feeling that tension mixed with release, could not resist staring at Vivi's perfect face as long as socially acceptable, accepting all of Vivi's help as she learned to swim. Simply, it was impossible. 

Especially when Vivi was just being so, so kind. It was her second round of swimming lessons and Haseul had decisively not improved in the slightest; they were still working on treading. Not even swimming, just...treading.

"Ugh, fuck!" Haseul groaned when she simply couldn't keep herself above water any longer, puppy kicking her way over to where her feet could touch. She was humiliated and exhausted, and she hadn't even done anything. 

With a completely non judgemental sigh, Vivi followed. "What's up?" 

Haseul sighed. "I just...I just..." She sighed again. "I just can't believe I still can't get it down. This is the second session of just....treading water."

"Haseul-" 

"And counting both sessions, it's been, like, four hours." 

"That's still not very much time," Vivi mumbled, in her gentle voice. 

Haseul sighed, yet _again._ Not only was her total failure probably very annoying to Vivi, her pessimistic attitude and constant complaining was also probably equally annoying. _Fuck._ How could she ever let herself have any hope when it came to Vivi? How the hell could someone like Vivi ever like her back? 

"I-I'm sorry," Haseul breathed out. 

Vivi smiled, brilliantly so, no hint of frustration on her face even though Haseul was _sure_ it must have been there, buried deep inside. "What are you sorry for? You're frustrated. It's hard. It feels like you've been at it forever when you haven't. I promise it's not easy. I know that's not the best thing to hear but it means you're doing just fine. I promise you'll get it down, though. And picking the rest up will get easier." 

"Clearly I don't have a natural talent for it though." 

Vivi laughed. "Who does? Not many people, I promise. I don't. I just learned when I was little." 

Haseul exhaled softly. "Are you sure?" 

"Yes! Yes I am." 

Vivi put her wet hand on Haseul's shoulder and she shivered; her delicate, slight hand was cold but her touch felt like _fire_ against her skin. It was fake, it was so fake it was her mind playing tricks on her but Haseul couldn't help herself, couldn't help but think there was something more behind that little touch. 

"Maybe we should take a break or something, eat some snacks and relax. Then we can go back in and try something else." 

Why _why_ why why **why** was Vivi so perfect? A good, understanding teacher who just _got_ Vivi. By god was she absolutely fucked; her heart ached at almost everything Vivi said and did. 

"That sounds great," Haseul answered, barely managing to contain everything she felt in her heart. 

Vivi grinned and the two girls waded out of the water, Haseul following close behind. And if Haseul thought things couldn't get worse...they emerged from the water. 

Haseul's feelings laid with Vivi's mind, not her appearance, not her body. But her body...well, it was simply a masterpiece. Vivi emerged from the water, her long sunset fire hair following behind, like out of some cheesy _movie._ Muscular, feminine, curves in all the right places; made to be a lifeguard, could've easily been on Baywatch. Her petal pink bikini, one swore Haseul saw at Forever 21 before she came down to Egret Cove, looked like it was made just for her. Haseul was whipped; she was fucked. 

Two feelings accompanied Haseul's thoughts about Vivi's looks: lust, and jealousy. 

It was the ultimate question of the woman loving woman- did you want to date her or to be her? 

Oh, Haseul wanted Vivi, but fuck did she want that body too. Her one piece was made for someone else, and it showed, her frame like a boy or a girl child, it wasn't what she wanted. Looking the way she did, it was hard to feel pretty, especially stripped down like this. Luckily the beach was almost deserted, but the one person Haseul wanted to impress- and therefore did not want to see her body- was right here, in front of her, talking to her, teaching her. 

Walking back to their stuff, Haseul tried to surreptitiously cover herself- deciding her stomach was the worst part she rested her arms over her not so flat stomach. 

Luckily, Yeojin didn't notice. Upon hearing Vivi and Haseul sit back down on the old sheet, she lowered her magazine and her orange tinted heart shaped sunglasses. "What." 

"We're taking a break," Vivi answered. "Did you bring snacks?" 

Yeojin threw Vivi the bag of chex mix and smirked. "Have fun, ladies." 

Haseul winced but Yeojin didn't pay any mind, turning back to her magazine, as Vivi pulled open the bag. Pointedly, she held out one of those toast crackers to Haseul. 

"Have it." 

Haseul made a face; she'd have to move her hands to take it. Vivi just kept her hand up and Haseul, sacrificing her bodily dignity for social dignity. She stuffed the cracker in her mouth a little too quickly and reached to cover herself up again, but Vivi grabbed her wrist before she could do it. 

"Here- while we're out here, why don't we practice some of the arm movements?" 

Haseul flashed hot. "S-sure," she managed to answer. 

With a small grin, Vivi grabbed her other wrist and started making her arms move. The girls shared a simultaneous laugh. 

"What are doing?" Haseul asked between giggles. 

"This is the breast stroke." Haseul made a large effort not to look at Vivi's boobs. Then, she started making Haseul's arms do another move. "And this is freestyle." 

"Ooh! I've heard of those!" 

Vivi put Haseul's arms down but she just let them hang by her sides, reaching back for the bag of chex mix before remembering her earlier shame. 

But wait-had Vivi moved her arms on purpose? Tried to make her laugh on purpose? Tried to distract her on purpose? 

Haseul heart thumped in her chest as she watched as Vivi grab some more food, her eyes glancing over Haseul's frame. There wasn't a single negative feeling in her eyes- only joy. And Haseul couldn't help but think Vivi had done it all for a reason, for her. 

"Ready to go back in?" 

Haseul gave her the biggest, _brightest_ smile back. "Definitely." 

~~~~~~~~~~

Simply spending time with Vivi, let alone Vivi helping for her and maybe, possibly caring for her, gave Haseul a high that would last for hours. 

But that would have to come crashing down, eventually. 

After Yeojin and Haseul walked Vivi home the girls split up, just relaxing in their rooms, watching TV (on Haseul's part) or playing minecraft with friends (on Yeojin's part). It wasn't boring like it was when Haseul first came to Egret Cove; now that she had a job free time alone was all the more sweet. Plus, it gave her time to in her mind, rehash Vivi over and over: her prettiness, her kindness, the way her touch felt in the water and on land. Yeojin was absolutely right; she was a fucking simp. 

But, all of was broken, easily so, with something as simple as a phone call. 

Haseul's eyes were distracted from the big TV screen to the little one beside her in bed, the black locked phone turning from her screensaver (a picture of Yeojin glaring at her for interrupting her playing minecraft) to the call page, showing the name Haseul almost dreaded: _Jungeun Kim_. 

It had been a while since her "friends" back home bothered to call, Haseul had disappointedly hoped they would give up. But Haseul hadn't picked up even once since she had been gone, and while she'd answered all of their texts, they had only gotten short responses back from her. 

Part of her felt guilty- the texts the girls had sent her had a sort of sad tone to it. But Haseul was probably overthinking; hell, she overthought _everything._ And why should she feel guilty? They only did this because they felt bad. Her not picking up would probably be a relief. 

But- she couldn't stop that nagging feeling in the pit of her chest that she should pick up the phone, just like that silly nagging feeling she got around Vivi earlier, like her affections were returned. Maybe she _should_ pick up, even just to make that baseless guilt go away. And anyways- even if Jungeun and Jinsoul didn't like her that much, her not picking up would probably make them think she didn't like them. And that just wasn't true- Haseul did like them, a lot. Maybe if Jungeun and Jinsoul really thought Haseul didn't like them they would stop bothering to pretend to be her friend. 

And as complicated as Haseul viewed their relationship- she didn't think she could take that. 

So finally, right on the last ring- Haseul slid to answer. 

"H-Hello?" 

"HASEUL!" Jungeun and Jinsoul screamed at the top of their lungs. 

"Oh my god, we finally caught you! Yes!" Jinsoul squealed. 

"We miss you so much," Jungeun whined in a tone so sentimental, so unlike her. 

Haseul's heart panged. How could this not be real, how could this not be real, how could they be faking this- did they miss her? Actually, really? Truly? 

"Sorry, sorry. We know you're busy and so we don't wanna make you feel guilty," Jungeun spoke. 

"No, no, d-don't worry about it..." Haseul felt a little overwhelmed, with this outpouring of love. 

"We haven't wanted to bombard you with calls and texts because we know you don't like those that much but I hope you know how much we miss you!" Jinsoul cheered. 

"I...I miss you girls too." Maybe, it wasn't a lie, and guilt and affection in Haseul's heart intertwined and shot all the way through her. It was true, calls and texts did sometimes make Haseul nervous, especially from them. But she'd always thought Jinsoul and Jungeun didn't contact her that much because they didn't want to. But maybe...they were looking out for her. Just maybe. 

"How is it? You must be having so much fun!" Jinsoul said. 

"I am," Haseul admitted. 

"What have you been up to?" Jungeun asked. 

And then...Haseul told them about it. Normally with Jungeun and Jinsoul, she didn't like to share anything about her life; nothing was interesting, why would they care? But this time she told them: holding back about Vivi (that was too personal), she told them all about Yeojin and her grandma and Allison's 24 Hour and Allison herself and Heejin and Hyunjin. And to her surprise...they listened. With wrapt attention. 

"It sounds so nice, like a movie," Jinsoul whined. 

"I wish we were there with you," Jungeun added. 

"I do too. But how are you two?" 

"Agh, same old same old. Nightly sexy sleepovers, missing the worlds best third wheel..."

"Oh! And Jungeunnie dyed her hair blonde again," Jinsoul interrupted. 

"Again?" 

"Come on, we all know its my best look." 

And the girls all laughed loudly, bemoaning Jungeun's dead hair and their times together in high school. And while some of Haseul's nerves still remained, some of them had dissipated, going off somewhere to hopefully never reappear again. And while Haseul didn't think she could always give long answers to texts, and always pick up the phone...she could now, sometimes. She would have to. 


	15. Chapter 15

The idea of a party was something that didn't seem real in Haseul's mind. 

Yes, she _heard_ about parties. Of course she had seen them in movies and TV shows, and Jinsoul and Jungeun told her all about the parties they went to. She had been invited to parties: only ever by Jinsoul and Jungeun of course, but still. And she had even been to parties: her parent's parties, children's birthday parties too. But none by or for teenagers. 

So of course Haseul would get nervous when she got a party invitation: the first party she'd actually wanted to go to. 

Heejin and Hyunjin had texted her that they were planning a small party on the beach, with just a few of their friends, and they really wanted Haseul to come. There would be a bonfire and food from Allison's 24 Hour and beers they had managed to obtain (aka steal from their dads). Haseul, of course, had an aversion to almost everything: groups of people, meeting new people, parties, etc. But...Haseul wanted to go. Really, really bad. She wasn't sure why: maybe because she liked Heejin and Hyunjin, maybe because she wanted to try alcohol, maybe because part of her was curious about parties. 

But, there was something holding her back. Haseul knew how it was: when her friends got around their better friends, they just ditched her. She just knew that Heejin and Hyunjin would talk to their friends the whole night and Haseul would be alone. 

There was one way to fix this, though...if Haseul brought someone she was closer to than the rest, someone shy and introverted, they could just cling for the rest of the night. And, for once, Haseul knew the perfect person to bring. 

Yes, it would be nervewracking to ask Vivi to come. But it wasn't so crazy. She knew Heejin and Hyunjin and probably knew their friends, but not well enough that she'd be closer to them than Haseul. It was a whole group of people too, so it wouldn't be like a date. It would be easier. 

So, Haseul pulled out her phone to text her crush. She'd have to get Vivi's conformation before she agreed to go. 

_hey!!!_ Haseul texted Vivi, the first messages they had sent to each other. 

_heejin and hyunjin are having a party_

_idk if i can bring anyone but if i can do u wanna come with???_

_omg dont feel like you have to hahah i just wanted to ask_

After sending the message Haseul immediately flipped her phone over, but to her surprise she received an answer right away. 

_i would love to!!! that sounds really fun. when is it?_

_tonight,_ Haseul answered.

_at our beach_

_i think theyre doing a bonfire thing too_

Haseul saw the three dots of Vivi answering as soon as her next message went through, before she could even lock her phone. 

_yessss i cant wait! let me know if theyre okay w me coming_

With shaking fingers, Haseul opened her group chat with Heejin and Hyunjin to answer their invitation. 

_yes im so down_

_is it okay if i bring someone?_

Hyunjin answered pretty quickly.

_uh we're gonna have alcohol idk if its a good idea to bring yeojin_

_NO!_ Haseul immediately responded. 

_i wanted to bring vivi_

_OMG,_ Heejin rapidly answered. 

_you better bring her!!_ Hyunjin added. 

_im so proud of u bb_ , Heejin finished. 

Haseul smiled and answered Vivi, telling her she could come before locking her phone. She was proud of herself too. 

~~~~~~~~~~

After making sure her grandmother and Yeojin had a real dinner, Haseul got ready for the party and made for the door. 

"Um, excuse me." 

Haseul turned around to see Yeojin staring at her, her arms crossed over her chest. 

"What?" 

"Where are _you_ going? You're dressed up and stuff." 

Haseul wouldn't exactly call herself dressed up; she was just wearing interesting pants and some makeup. But she still made an embarrassed face at the ground. 

"Um...I'm going to a party...?" 

" _Whose?"_

"Heejin and Hyunjin's...." 

Yeojin gasped. "Without me?!" 

"It's a teen party!" 

"So? Can I come?" 

"Yeojin, I'm sorry...." 

Yeojin gave a very aggressive eye roll. "Why not?" 

Haseul's voice dropped down to a whisper. "There's gonna be alcohol and stuff..." 

"Ew!" Yeojin cried, before sighing. "Teenagers are so boring. Are you gonna get _drunk?_ " 

"Shh!" Haseul didn't exactly want her grandmother hearing all of this. 

"Is it just Heejin and Hyunjin?" 

"No. Their friends from school are coming. Plus I'm bringing Vivi." 

Yeojin gasped. "You're bringing Vivi?" 

"I know, right?" Haseul said with a proud smile. 

Yeojin rolled her eyes, standing standing firmly at the doorway. "Okay, fine. You can go to this stupid boring teenager party without me. But you have to tell me every single thing that happened with you and Vivi." 

"I'm sorry, Yeojin. We'll hang out tomorrow," Haseul said as she slipped on her shoes. 

"Yeah yeah, whatever." Haseul worried Yeojin was actually upset before the ten year old grinned at her. "I don't want to hang out with stupid teenagers anyways. Just get that girl." 

Haseul chuckled. "I'll do my best Yeojin. Have a good night." 

"You too, I guess," Yeojin groaned before Haseul shut the door. 

The seventeen year old practically skipped two houses down to Vivi's before placing a few knocks on the door. Vivi opened almost instantaneously and Haseul was practically frozen in place: her electric orange hair and flip flops contrasted so perfectly with her little lacey white dress, bright eyes somehow sparklier than usual (and they were usually sparkly), and fuck it was so _her._ Haseul was so blown away she didn't even notice how quickly Vivi opened up, the girls sharing a little giggle, about what, neither of them even knew at that point. 

"Hi," Vivi said in her angelic voice. 

"Hey," Haseul answered, tucking her hair behind her ears. 

"Thank you for inviting me."

"Well, thank you for coming." 

They shared another shy glance. 

"So...shall we?" 

"Yeah." Vivi giggled. "That's probably a good idea." 

So the girls took the short walk down to Our Beach, the summer sun finally setting but still casting soft light on everything it could touch, chatting about their literally nothing days but _fuck_ it was easy, getting easier and easier every day. It wasn't like this for everyone, with Haseul. With most people, it could never be easy. 

The bonfire was already ablaze when Haseul and Vivi arrived, Heejin and Hyunjin and their friends chattering away and snacking at the Allison's 24 Hour leftovers laid out around them. As soon as the girls spotted them, they were greeted with overexcited waves and beckons to come closer. 

"Haseul! Vivi! We're really glad you could make it," Hyunjin said, giving the girls a hug. 

"We even saved you guys some milkshakes," Heejin said, passing a pink one to Vivi and a light brown to Haseul. 

"They're probably already melted, but still," Hyunjin mumbled. 

"Hi Vivi!" A voice spoke out from the crowd of Heejin and Hyunjin's friends. A smiley girl leapt up and gave Vivi the most massive hug which Vivi politely (although less enthusiastically) returned. The other girls, far quieter than their friend, also waved at the sherbert haired girl. 

"Hey Jiwoo," Vivi answered, but this girl (apparently named Jiwoo) had already turned her attention to Haseul. 

"Oh my gosh are you Haseul? I've heard so much about you!" She squealed a little. "I'm Jiwoo!" 

Haseul held out her hand but Jiwoo just gave her a hug. With a smile shared with Vivi, she returned it. 

Jiwoo pulled away quickly and looked at the other girls. "These are our other friends: my girlfriend Sooyoung (Jiwoo pointed to a girl who looked _way_ too cool for Haseul to even look at, with short hair and clothes probably bought on some scary website like dollskill, who would have the balls to go into a Spencer's in the mall to buy a vibrator), Hyejoo (who looked like she stepped out of one of those scene culture revival instagram accounts; definitely a kuromi girl, also probably was courageous enough to shop on dollskill or even go into a Hot Topic), and Chaewon (the my melody girl to Hyejoo's kuromi, despite having that shy vibe also probably had enough strength and bravery to shop on dollskill, although in a different section than Hyejoo or Sooyoung). Heejin and Hyunjin shared a fond chuckle, this was clearly not unusual behavior for Jiwoo. 

"Thanks for introducing the girls," Heejin said. 

"No problem! I'm just so glad you came!" Jiwoo answered, giving Haseul another hug. 

"M-me too," Haseul answered. 

Sooyoung snorted and looked up at her girlfriend, pulling a beer out of the sand. "I think we're gonna need some of this." 

"Already?" Jiwoo cried loudly. 

"Yes, please," Hyejoo very quietly groaned. 

Haseul and Vivi finally sat down, nerves beginning to build in her stomach. Did these girls drink all the time? Would Haseul be the odd inexperienced one out? Well...she'd just have to find out. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Haseul very quickly realized that no, these girls did not drink all the time, that they were just as inexperienced as herself, and that they were all _absolute_ lightweights. A couple beers in and the girls were a wreck: Sooyoung and Jiwoo shamelessly making out in the sand, Heejin teaching Hyunjin some tiktok dance, and Hyejoo and Chaewon whispering to each other with one earbud in each, so loud Haseul could hear them listening to MCR. 

So, everyone was distracted enough when Haseul realized that alcohol really did give her some confidence. She'd always heard that drinking gave you balls but didn't ever really believe it until she was rolling up her pants to go put her feet in the water. 

The air was cool but not cold and the waves crashing against the shore simply sounded _delicious_ ; for once Haseul wanted to feel that feeling for herself. So, not caring that she couldn't swim, not caring that she might seem stupid, Haseul ran down the shore from the bonfire to the ocean itself. 

When her toes hit the water a shiver, a good shiver went up Haseul's spine and she exhaled. There was peace momentarily. She couldn't see much, only the fire and the moon and the stars to light her way. But noise was heightened; the quiet sound of her friends and the fire behind her, the soft hitting of waves on the shore ahead. But she wanted more, to go deeper. 

So Haseul waded in, further and further, rolling her pants up more before taking more steps, deeper into the water, all quiet and calm until-

The crashing of feet in water from behind and suddenly, herself in someone's arms. After a moment of tipsy slowness it clicked that it was Vivi holding her, a tight back hug, those pretty little hands around Haseul's plush waist. Haseul shivered, again, another good shiver, but there was enough alcohol in her system to prevent Haseul's usual freak out at any sort of human contact, let alone human contact with the object of her affections. 

"What are you doing?" Vivi whined into her back; through just her voice it was obvious Vivi was just as drunk as Haseul was. 

"I wanted to touch the water. It looked delicious." 

Vivi laughed and the vibrations tickled Haseul's back more deliciously than the water tickling Haseul's rapidly freezing legs. 

"But you can't swim!" 

"You're teaching me, aren't you?" 

Haseul dipped her hands in the cool water and put them on top of Vivi's. The orange haired goddess giggled but didn't let go or even loosen her grip around Haseul. Vivi kept on giggles and Haseul mindlessly traced the cool water along the veins and bones of Vivi's hands and wrists, hoping and fearing remembering this in the morning. She was an idiot, an absolute fool, and nothing could be more embarrassing than the cringey way she touched Vivi this night without a hint of shame. And if Vivi remembered, that would just make this all worse. But if this stayed in her mind Haseul would cherish this night forever. Even if Vivi didn't love her back, even if they never saw each other again, this would be enough for Haseul's gay touch starved self: Vivi holding her, Haseul touching her back without fear, both of them staying like this, both of them _liking_ it. It was soft, it was tender, and it was enough for Haseul, the girl who had never had anything more. 

"Don't drown, alright?" Vivi nestled herself into Haseul's back and Haseul sighed at the sensation. 

"I won't. I promise I won't, for you." 

Vivi laughed, again, so loudly and Haseul simply _relished_ the sound. Vivi's shy giggles and awkward chuckles were pretty and cute but her loud, unabashed laugh was something entirely different. 

"For me?" Vivi cried. "You won't drown for me? What about for yourself?" 

"Yeah, yeah, I guess," Haseul mumbled begrudgingly. 

Vivi nestled her small face into the crook of Haseul's neck. Seemingly, she looked out at the endless ocean, not a break in sight. Haseul looked out at it too. She felt small but still safe, grounded. Nothing could move her with Vivi gripping her this tight, like she would float away if she let go. 

"Don't drown," Vivi said, jokingly and serious, soft and firm. 

"I won't, for you, Vivi." 

Haseul turned around and suddenly, far too shy to look Vivi in the eye after this, after everything, launched herself into the crook of Vivi's shoulder. 

"Oh god...how are we gonna get home?" 

Vivi laughed loudly at that as the dark waves caressed their legs, tangled together, feet pressed against the soft sand. 

"I don't know, Haseul." Haseul breathed in the two gentle syllables of her own name. "I don't know." 


	16. Chapter 16

Coming into work the next day was _hell._

Yes, Haseul was hungover from a couple beers, and yes, she was not too ashamed to admit it. But boy was she pissed about it. If this headache, exhaustion, and nauseau came around from just a few beers, than Haseul was terrified of what drinking hard liquor would result in. And this morning she decided she would never learn exactly what those results would be. 

Walking into Allison's 24 Hour, Haseul was relieved to see that Heejin and Hyunjin were as dead as she was: neither girl had brushed her hair or put on even a tinge of makeup, as Haseul could tell by the dark under circles beneath both of their eyes. Heejin was slowly, but surely, but _very_ slowly sweeping the floor, and Hyunjin wasn't even bothering to work: she sat down at a table, looking around. When Haseul watched in the two shared an eyebrow raise before Hyunjin slumped her head onto the table. 

"Yo," Haseul said to Heejin. 

"Yo." Heejin looked up and gave Haseul a nod, and Haseul went to the back to clock in. 

As she set her stuff down, Allison walked by, giving her a knowing chuckle. 

"Have fun last night?" 

The feeling of Vivi's arms around her flashed in Haseul's mind and she couldn't stop herself from blushing. 

"Y-You could say that..." 

"Just don't forget you're still _technically_ on the clock, alright?" 

Haseul managed a smile. "I wouldn't dare." 

They smiled at each other and Haseul went back to the front, willing herself awake as she wiped down the counter and register. 

"Why did you guys decide to have a party the night before a workday?" Haseul asked Heejin and Hyunjin loudly, as the restaurant was mostly empty. 

"Because we were stupid," Hyunjin groaned, her head still resting on the table. 

"It was fun though!" Heejin whined. "I'm still glad we did it, and I think everyone else had fun. I'm glad you got to meet Sooyoung and Jiwoo and Chaewon and Hyejoo too." 

"Yeah; they were all pretty nice." 

Hyunjin finally sat up just to give Haseul a smirk. "You did pretty much spend the entire night with Vivi though. We barely talked to either of you." 

"How did you even get home?" Heejin asked. "By the time Hyunjin and I were ready to leave we couldn't find you or Vivi anywhere. We were too drunk to really think about it then but this morning we were kinda worried you and Vivi got hurt." 

Haseul laughed. "Don't worry, we were alright. Eventually we ended up just walking home, I saw her go inside." 

"Oooh!" Heejin and Hyunjin cried simultaneously as Heejin sweeped closer to where Haseul wiped the counter, and Hyunjin finally got up and started wiping tables near Haseul. 

"Did anything _special_ happen?" Heejin questioned. 

"No, not on the walk," Haseul clarified, but immediately cursed her own face: she could feel herself heating up right then and there. 

"You are so lying," Hyunjin groaned. 

Haseul smiled to herself; it would feel so nice to brag to the other girls about what happened between her and Vivi on the beach. Although her memories of the night were hazy in places those moments with Vivi were as clear as if they were happening before her eyes, right now, and Haseul had a feeling they would never fade. Even though in her mind those moments didn't mean anything, it was still so nice to talk about. 

"Nothing did happen on the walk. But at the beach..." 

Both Heejin and Hyunjin immediately threw down their work and ran up to the counter with overly eager and expectant looks.

Haseul laughed. "Okay! Okay, I'll tell you. So...my drunk self thought it would be a good idea to put my feet in the water, right? I don't know why, I can't even really swim, but I just really wanted to...so I did. My dumb ass rolled up my pants and starting going into the water. Now, wait, some backstory...Vivi has been giving me swimming lessons on our days off." 

"Wait, since when?" Hyunjin interrupted. 

"Pretty soon after we met...she's a lifeguard after all." 

"Oh my god!" Heejin cheered. "You two are much further along than I thought." 

"No way, she just felt bad for me or something since I can't swim so she decided to teach me..." 

"You know teaching someone something is a big investment. Haseul, that's gotta mean something..." Heejin trailed off. 

"I don't know..." 

Heejin and Hyunjin shared a look before Hyunjin spoke. "Alright, alright, now keep telling us about last night." 

Haseul cleared her throat. "Alright. So I was in the water with my feet and legs in and suddenly, someone ran into my back and hugged me and I, like, knew immediately that it was Vivi." 

"Oh my god!" Heejin and Hyunjin squealed simultaneously. 

"And she was kinda holding me back from going deeper since I can't swim and all...like...like she was keeping me safe, oh my god I sound so stupid...and she told me to promise her I wouldn't drown..." 

"OH MY GOD!" The girls repeated. 

"I dunno, I dunno, it's probably not a big deal, it was kinda stupid but _oh my god_ it was so wonderful....and then after that I walked her home. And, yeah. That was the night." 

"Oh my god that sounds so amazing," Hyunjin said. 

"Who doesn't love a good back hug?" Heejin added. 

"Not to be cheesy....but it was one of the most amazing things that's ever happened to me." 

Heejin looked up at Haseul. "And dude, that is a big deal. If you know anything about dating girls, it's that little gestures like that mean everything." 

"What do you mean?" Haseul asked.

"Duh. Haseul, if it wasn't already obvious before, then it should be _really_ obvious now." 

"That what?" 

"That she likes you!" Heejin and Hyunjin said at the same time. 

Haseul felt that fire of hope bubble up and die in her chest, in just seconds. It was just a hug. They were drunk. They were just friends. A friend would tell a friend not to drown, right? This wasn't romance. How could it be? It was just too small of a gesture, one Haseul should absolutely not let herself get attached to. 

"Guys...it was just a hug. It doesn't mean she likes me." 

Hyunjin let out the most haggard sigh Haseul had ever heard from her. "You, my friend, are a fool. It's different with girls! It's different than the movies where people just come out and say things! You have to read between the lines when dating." 

"And anyways, I personally think that was an instance of coming out and saying it. It seemed like a confession to me," Heejin added. 

Haseul scoffed and shook her head, going back to furiously scrubbing a milkshake stain on the corner of the register. "No way." 

"Haseul, it's time you asked her out on a date. You'll get the confirmation you need of her feelings, and if she doesn't like you, which is absolutely impossible, you'll at least be able to end this whole debate. And anyways...how much longer do you have here?" 

"Hyunjin, that's mean!" Haseul cried. 

"Don't bring that up," Heejin added with a little rub to Hyunjin's arms. 

"Sorry, sorry," Hyunjin breathed. "I just...I just want you to be happy, okay? I'm probably just making shit worse with all my pushing..." 

"No, I know, I know..." Haseul answered. And she believed it; she believed they thought Vivi liked her, that Vivi could like her, that a confession would be the best thing all around. But they didn't know Vivi as well as she did and they didn't know that Vivi saw her as just a friend and maybe they didn't know just how deep Haseul's insecurity ran, that even if Vivi liked her back there would be no way she could ever see it without a loud, clear declaration of _I LIKE YOU._

But now the air was awkward, Hyunjin felt weird for pushing too far and Heejin felt weird for letting her girlfriend push too far and Haseul felt weird for not even taking an inch of the confidence Hyunjin and Heejin were trying to give her. Haseul sighed a little. It was gonna be like this the rest of the shift, sad and awkward and uncomfortable until-

"Where are they?" A normally higher pitched voice growled loudly, pushing the doors to the restaurant open with her little hands, forcing her way inside. And there was Im Yeojin: minecraft shorts and hoodie set on, froggie backpack on her shoulders, glare in her eyes. 

"Yeojinnie!" Heejin cheered, spotting the ten year old. "We haven't seen you in so long, we've missed you so much!" 

"Don't give me that," Yeojin answered in her most serious voice. Heejin frowned and fell back from where she was about to hug Yeojin and Hyunjin pouted, but Haseul just laughed: she could see behind Yeojin's eyes that she was joking. "Where was my party invitation?" 

"Oh Yeojin, it was a teenager party! We didn't think you'd have all that much fun," Heejin explained. 

"Plus I don't think your grandma would have let you out so late," Hyunjin added. 

Yeojin just stood there with her little arms crossed and Heejin and Hyunjin's faces fell further. 

"Oh Yeojin, we're really sorry," Heejin spoke up. 

"Will you forgive us?" Hyunjin said. 

Yeojin held her angry expression for a few more moments before bursting into laughter. "Oh my god, I was just kidding!" 

"Ah thank god," Heejin breathed out, pulling Yeojin into a hug with Hyunjin following behind.

"We'll invite you to parties from now on," Hyunjin said. 

"It's okay, your party sounded boring anyways." Yeojin gave them a smile and slid into a seat. "I just came to hear the gossip." 

Both Heejin and Hyunjin gave Haseul a _look_ and she winced and turned away. 

"Really? Ugh, you came back too late last night and left too early this morning for me to question you! So shoot." 

And with Yeojin's blessing she rehashed the night over again, not that she minded at all: it was a treat to get to relive those moments with Vivi. All three girls looked at her with wide excited eyes and when she finished telling her tale, Yeojin's excited cheers joined in with Heejin's and Hyunjin's. 

"So you two are basically dating now, right?" Yeojin asked. 

Haseul laughed. "I don't know about that, that's not exactly how it works." 

"Oh come on, Yeojin is right!" Heejin answered. 

"Of course I am!" 

"See, Yeojin agrees with us too," Hyunjin spoke. 

"Never mind it guys," Yeojin spoke up. "Haseul's not gonna believe a thing until Vivi grabs her face and screams I like you to her." 

Heejin and Hyunjin shared a look and sighed and Haseul just shrugged. 

"She's right. Nobody knows me like family." 

"Of course I know." 

"But you all know that's never going to happen, right?" Haseul said. 

"You're wrong!" Yeojin whined. 

"You are fully completely totally wrong!" Hyunjin added. 

"Guys, stop getting my hopes up," Haseul groaned. 

"How could we be getting your hopes up if your hopes are correct?" Heejin spoke. 

Haseul sighed. It hurt how badly she wanted their words to be true, how badly she wanted that feeling of hope she had from the night before to be more than just a hope, but a truth. But, it couldn't be. Vivi and her were _friends._ That's all they'd ever be. 

"At least ask her on a date. Then you'll know for sure," Yeojin said. 

"I already do know for sure," Haseul answered. 

"I said that too though! You know, now two separate people have advised you to do this, so it's probably a good idea," Hyunjin spoke. 

"And I think it's a good idea, so that's three votes," Heejin added. 

Haseul thought. Maybe...maybe it wasn't such a terrible idea. Of course, she would get rejected. But maybe a solid no would give Haseul the push she needed to stop falling for Vivi before it was too late. 

She probably wouldn't do it though. 

"Maybe," she finally answered. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys! we're a little more than halfway through the story now! i hope everyone is liking it so far, please let me know what you think in the comments!!
> 
> this is the point in my writing where I decide the next story i'll write (once our beach is finished, of course). I always like to get my readers opinions! Here are the two ideas I have floating around right now: 
> 
> a. a dark academia au, around 20 chapters. It would sorta be in the style of the secret history by donna tarte, if you've read that, but it wouldn't follow the plot exactly. basically, the plot is viseul, lipsoul, and chuuves as students at a catholic college who get corrupted. the ~vibe~ is supposed to be dark n sexy but there wouldnt be blatant smut. i dont wanna say anymore bc i think thatll give it away??? idk, i keep alternating between this au ending up kinda cringey or something really different and cool. the tags are like kinda angsty, mature rated, college au. 
> 
> b. a high school soulmate au, around 30 chapters. if youve read my nct/exo soulmate aus it will definitely follow that structure/format, of course each couple will have unique struggles but yeah. it would feature ot12 (viseul, lipsoul, chuuves, hyewon, 2jin, and yeorry) and would be a typical high school au except suddenly the students can all sense their soulmates and ~chaos ensues~. the tags are like mildly angsty, mostly fluffy, all the cliches, high school au. 
> 
> So...let me know which one you'd prefer!! let me know also if both of those ideas sound bad or if you have any of your own. please vote and/or tell me your thoughts in the comments! it helps me a lot and helps you get the fics you like. 
> 
> Sincerely, 
> 
> RainbowDonkeys


	17. Chapter 17

One thing Haseul hadn't expected was for her and Vivi's _time together_ at the bonfire to lead to more communication. 

I mean...of course, they didn't talk about what happened that night. Vivi probably forgot, or just didn't think it was a big deal, and definitely decided it was awkward to discuss, just like Haseul had. 

But they did communicate more, simply via text message. 

Apparently, Haseul's message to Vivi that night to ask her to come hang out had made it okay for them to text each other. Vivi didn't bombard her: usually, it was just a message once or twice a day about something funny she saw at the beach, or a link to a tiktok she liked, or a quick check up. Haseul was chill about it to (even if she absolutely _didn't_ want either to have to be chill), and Haseul was quickly realizing her hatred of communication of any time went away easily when the person she was communicating with was Vivi.

Vivi even started dming Haseul instagram memes (yes, Haseul had an instagram, she'd never posted but it was still up). Yeojin, Heejin, and Hyunjin absolutely _insisted_ it was a sign that Vivi was madly in love with her. Haseul of course didn't believe them, but...she felt that there was an inkling of truth to what they said. Sharing memes was a big deal. At the very least, it meant that Vivi liked her as a friend, and a close friend too. 

The quiet pings of her phone, the short vibration in her back pocket, the notification pop ups when she was watching youtube...each one brought her a little drop of joy Haseul could never have even considered existing before. 

_See?_ Haseul thought to herself. _Small moments of bravery can lead to big happiness....at least sometimes._

But anyways....another day off, another day on her way to the beach. 

Her and Yeojin were walking down the quiet, empty road, the ever present noise of the waves crawling back and forth across the shore long faded into the background for them. Instead, Haseul's ears were pricked for the ding, the buzz, the clack of her phone. And Yeojin was looking at her, deadpan. 

"She's at work, Haseul." 

Haseul whimpered stupidly. "But- but-" 

"You mean a lot to Vivi. But not quite enough that she would look down at her phone and let some kid drown for you." 

"Ugh." 

"If this wasn't total progress from you, I would roast you until your brain fried." 

"You already _do_ roast me until my brain fries! Every single day." 

"If you think _this_ is roasting..." 

Yeojin stopped because the girls had arrived at the beach and Vivi was _right there._ Standing in front of them, at the very start of the sand, as if she'd been waiting, and desperately so. 

Immediately, she turned shy. The little tendrils of orange creamsicle hair that escaped her ponytail fell in front of her wide eyes, and she looked down at the sand. 

"H-hey." Yeojin snickered, and Haseul lightly kicked her ankle. 

"Hi!" Haseul answered a little too cheerfully...anything to make Vivi less uncomfortable. 

"Waiting long?" Yeojin teased. Haseul kicked her ankle again.

Vivi swallowed and sat up a little; as if giving herself the courage to not be embarrassed. "Not really. I got off of my shift just a second ago." 

"Oh good!" Haseul breathed a sigh of relief that Vivi wasn't ignoring her, both girls falling quiet, just looking at each other. 

_My god is Vivi pretty...perfect, model like, delicate features that just draw you in until you can't escape-_

"Should we sit?" Yeojin spoke slowly, as if to a child. Haseul blinked to cl ear her thoughts and Vivi cleared her throat, and they both nodded. 

"Sounds good to me!" 

After Yeojin and Haseul took off their shoes they walked to their usual spot, the bright sand coming up between their toes, hot but not burning beneath their feet. Haseul laid down the sheet and Yeojin pulled out the multitudes of snacks, and the girls sat down. 

"Are you ready for more swimming lessons?" Vivi asked as she comfortably opened up a bag of frosted circus animals. 

"Are you ready for me to fail at treading again?" 

"No!" Vivi whined as Yeojin gave Haseul a look, grabbing a magazine out of her bag (was that an old issue of People? She must have stolen it from grandma...) "You're gonna do great, Haseul. I know this time you'll get it." 

Haseul took a deep breath. "We can't know if I'll do okay until I try, right?" Without waiting for an answer from Vivi she threw off her outer clothes and ran into the water, screaming a little when all her skin, even what was covered by her swimsuit, hit the cool water. 

"Wait for me!" Vivi called after her, laughing and racing into the water after her. Yeojin laughed at them herself from the shore, and Haseul swore she heard a final snicker from her before diving back into her magazine. 

But Haseul couldn't pay attention to her cousin for too long when Vivi was right beside her, giving her the brightest of smiles as Haseul could only shiver. Quickly Vivi dived under, pushing her hair back out of her eyes, straight out of a movie. Haseul could only stare. 

"Come on, just dunk. You're still shivering! I promise it helps." 

Haseul returned to reality and remembered that despite how horrible it seemed, Vivi was right about just getting her hair wet. 

"Ugh. You're right, you're right." 

Taking a deep breath, Haseul dived under and came back up as quickly as she could. For a moment Vivi was frozen as a statue, looking at her, before she turned back to reality. 

_Fuck, she probably looked dumb as hell._ Haseul pushed her hair back and tried to straighten it out, trying to get a look at herself in the water. 

"Ready to start?" Vivi asked. 

Not really. But it was just nice to be with Vivi. "Yup." 

"Do you remember treading?" Vivi asked gently, not any hint of a patronizing tone in her voice (despite Haseul feeling like maybe, she deserved it). 

"How could I forget?" 

Vivi chuckled and the girls waded out to where the water was a little deeper, where Haseul couldn't touch (but could just a foot or so over), where when they first started, she had to dog paddle so hard she splashed water _everywhere_ just to stay afloat. 

And Vivi began to tread the water, just like she always did. 

And just like Vivi had taught her, Haseul began to tread to. 

And for once....it _worked._

For a few seconds, at least. Soon enough Haseul was sinking again and she was dog paddling to bring herself up but just for a few moments in time, it worked. 

When Vivi looked back at her it was like she'd never failed at all, smile blooming bright on her face, grabbing Haseul's arm without question to bring her back to the place where they could touch. 

"You did it!" She squealed, loud enough to draw attention from other beachwalkers but Haseul didn't give a single fuck. 

"Only for a few seconds-" 

"But who cares! You did it Haseul. I told you that you could, I told you." And without a moment's question, she pulled Haseul into a hug. 

Frozen. The sixteen year old was simply _frozen_ in Vivi's delicate limbs. She was soaked, saltwater dripping off her skin but Haseul could not find it in herself to care, wet strands of hair landing across her skin. 

It took a few too many moments for Haseul to come too, but then, it was easy. 

Oh yeah was she nervous, but she held Vivi back. 

I mean...it would be weird to hug someone and not hug them back, so Haseul had to, just to make sure Vivi didn't feel awkward. 

And, entirely selfishly, she'd been practically desperate for a Vivi hug basically since they met. Vivi didn't have to know it was more than just a hug to her. 

Vivi pulled away far too quickly for Haseul's liking, looking down at the water and clearing her throat before sitting up straighter. Like she was coming back to reality, like she was collecting herself. 

_It couldn't be, right? In Vivi's eyes, it could only be just a hug._

"Ready to try again?" Vivi asked. 

This time, it wasn't a lie. "Absolutely." 

~~~~~~~~~~

For once, the swimming lessons had gone well. 

She had finally mastered treading. Finally! What she had only been able to do for a few seconds an hour ago, and not at all a couple weeks ago, she was totally capable of doing. It was fucking amazing, all thanks to Vivi's gentle, patient teaching. 

And maybe, too, the little victory at the beginning. Maybe it was that little glimmer of hope, that push of _something_ happening to make the whole thing actually follow through. Maybe that was what made Haseul finally able to tread. 

Just like with texting Vivi. That one invite to a party opened the door to daily texting, daily talking, all the communication that Haseul so desperately craved from her beautiful, _beautiful_ crush. 

Maybe...that catalyst could do more. Maybe that something of communication could lead to the whole thing. Maybe, they were closer now. Close enough to hang out...or go on a date. Just, go somewhere different, just the two of them. 

_No way. Vivi would always reject her._

_As a lover, of course she would,_ Haseul countered inside her own mind. _But as a friend?_

_They were friends now. Haseul could confidently say that. And friends hung out all the time, just the two of them, together. It totally wasn't weird._

_Maybe...Haseul could ask Vivi on a date. A friend like date, where Haseul could pretend it was real as soon as she got home all the way until she fell asleep at night._

_She could do that._

"I have to," Haseul mumbled out loud. "Before it's too late." 

_Too late?_

_Haseul felt her heart sink. The summer would end at some point. And maybe she was always regret not being Vivi's lover, but there was nothing she could do to change that. What she would really regret is not hanging out with Vivi, one on one, at least once. Even as friends and just friends._

"What?" Vivi asked. 

The two girls had been emerging from the water after their lesson to go pig out on snacks (while Yeojin mercilessly teased them) when Haseul, as per usual, had gotten caught up in her thoughts and fucking _spoken them out loud._ Thank god Vivi at least didn't hear what she said. 

Right. Vivi. Vivi who she one day, one soon day, won't be able to meet up with at the beach or see at her job. Vivi, who it didn't matter if she could or couldn't ask her to hang out. At this point, she _had_ to. No matter what. 

"Vivi?" 

"Yeah?" Vivi's face fell, she looked concerned. _Fuck Haseul was being way too serious, fuck fuck fuck, she had to calm down._

_She was asking her on a friend date, right? To hang out? That wouldn't be a big deal, right? So she has no reason to be nervous._

Haseul took as unnoticable of a deep breath as she could, shifted her weight to one leg, and thought. 

"So, ya wanna chill sometime?" 

"Uh?" 

"Chill. Chillax." Haseul chuckled falsey, controlling her tone into almost uncomfortable neutrality. 

Vivi giggled a little but Haseul's nerves were thrumming so loud that she couldn't hear, couldn't really feel much else other than everything going on inside her head. 

"Like...hang out?" 

"Yup, my dude. Like...not here on the beach though. Or at Allison's. Just like...somewhere. You and me. Yeah. Chilling. Chillaxing." 

It was an immediate change. Vivi's confused expression morphed into a big smile immediately, the kind that reached all the way up to her eyes that made Haseul's weak heart ache more than it already did in that moment. 

"Yeah! Yeah, I...I'd really like that." 

"Really?" Haseul squealed before immediately gathering her self control back up. 

"Yeah. Of course I would." 

"How about....tomorrow evening?" 

"Like seven o'clock?" 

"Sounds perf, dude." 

"Should I eat before?" 

_Wait...was that a date like question? Did you usually asks your dates this because it was a date and you might get dinner together? Or was it just a normal friend thing? Haseul didn't know. She didn't know anything about dates or even friends, really._

"Nah," she finally answered. "Let's eat together, a nice dude meal." 

Vivi giggled again, but it was clearly a little giggle of joy, not of uncomfortableness. 

"That sounds so good to me." 

"So it's a date!" Haseul said a little too enthusiastically before _immediately_ falling silent. 

_Oh my god oh my god oh my god._

After everything she had done to make it seem like this hangout with her and Vivi was just that, a hangout, between two friends who were just friends and would never be anything more than friends. The _wording,_ the _tone,_ the _body language_ that Haseul had so tightly kept under her control to make this not weird, to not say anything more than what she was sure Vivi could return. All of that...gone. In just a second, just four simple words.

Slowly, Vivi smiled back at Haseul, a look in her eyes Haseul wasn't sure she had ever seen from her before. "Yeah. It is." 

Haseul just about fucking _died._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for late update....again. gah. more than two weeks since the last update this time. if you didn't tell me what loona fic you want me to write next in the comments of the last chapter, please tell me now! the options/more information is in the notes of last chapter (chapter sixteen) anywayz, i hope you enjoyed! hopefully see yall soon. 


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oops. i had finals, okay? i'll try and post more often :( 
> 
> and yes, I did have them dress in their teaser (vivi)/mv (haseul) outfits for the date lmao

It was the day. THE DAY. The day of the date. The date? The date! The date. 

Literally every emotion that has ever existed ever played itself out inside Haseul's stomach. It was gonna be her and Vivi- just her and Vivi- with it maybe, possibly implied that this was a romantic excursion. 

First of all, before anything else....she could not believe that Vivi even might have agreed to a romantic excursion. Maybe- just maybe, Heejin and Hyunjin and Yeojin had been right. _Maybe._ To some small degree. 

But maybe it was like...a half date? Like, more than friends but also not? Was that even a thing? Haseul still wasn't quite sure (even after digging through google), but to her it seemed like the most logical conclusion (even if she was slightly self aware that a half date was a completely illogical idea in the first place). Vivi said it was a date, but that couldn't possibly be true, but it was _her words..._ so, a half date it was. 

(Yes, even Haseul was exhausted from the mental gymnastics her mind participated in.)

But now, the issue was finding the perfect thing to do that could be considered a date and also could not. But could? If Vivi wanted it to be? But also could not if Vivi didn't want that. She had asked Vivi out, after all. Decisions were her worst nightmare, but it was her job to find what to do. 

So after hours of looking up "half date ideas" and "what to do on a half date" and "activities for a sort of date", and eventually deciding to just call it a date, at least in the google search bar, she decided. 

A drive in movie. Yes, it was incredibly cheesy but first of all, Haseul loved that kind of cheesy shit. At least in theory, well, she had never actually _done_ any of that cheesy shit, but she liked the idea of it. It would be perfect: her and Vivi in perfect privacy in a car, but still in public, so it wasn't _too_ private. It was unique and she had managed to find a drive in movie on the outskirts of Egret Cove, and maybe it was edging a little close to the romantic territory for Haseul's idea for a half date, but maybe....maybe...it wouldn't be the worst thing if it was romantic. 

As Yeojin played minecraft in the other room Haseul carefully shuffled through her closet, trying on each and every item of clothing she brought: it was what she _had_ to do. It had to be casual, but not too casual, and nice, but not too nice. Eventually, she settled on a plain, long sleeve red dress and combat boots. Her expectations for her own appearance couldn't be too high: after all, no matter what Vivi was wearing, she'd look amazing. 

Finally, it was time. Haseul felt so alive that she felt like she was dying as she got into her car and drove the two houses down in front of Vivi's. One honk of her horn and Vivi popped right out of her house, and Haseul perished. 

There she was: pretty, pretty Vivi, dressed in a red and white striped button up and flared overall dress, the front pieces of her electric orange hair tied up in a little ponytail on the top of her head, like an apple. 

God, could anyone be cuter? 

It was that smile that did it for Haseul, though. A smile of pure joy, one that Haseul couldn't rationalize away. Vivi was excited, excited that it was Haseul and just Haseul at her door. She'd put effort into her clothes, too. To spend time with Haseul. For Haseul. 

As Vivi hopped into the passenger seat Haseul took deep breaths, in and out, in and out, just desperately hoping beyond hope that Vivi couldn't hear her heart _pound_ in her chest. She was this bad already? God, she was screwed. Hopefully she could still drive. 

"Hi," Vivi finally spoke, staring down at her lap. Haseul spared a glance too, both looking at the sparkly, deer shaped ring on her right pointer finger. 

"H-Hey! Um...how are you?" 

"I'm great Haseul," Vivi admitted, genuinely so. She leaned against the car to look at Haseul, and Haseul stared at the steering wheel. "What do you wanna do?" 

"Um...uh, I kinda was...well, thinking of doing a drive in movie? If that sounds fun to you..." 

"Really?" Vivi beamed. "There's a drive in movie place around here?" 

"Y-yeah! Kinda on the outskirts of town." 

"That sounds so fun!" 

Haseul found the courage for about a half a second to look at Vivi before staring out the front window again. "Let's go then! It's not far." 

"Okay good," Vivi answered, and Haseul drove off. 

After a few moments of driving, Vivi turned to Haseul once again. "You planned this out, right?" 

Haseul flushed. "U-uh-" 

"Thank you. That's...that's so sweet." 

The girls shared a small smile before each turning to look out of their windows. They fell silent but it wasn't awkward- it wasn't really comfortable, either; it was nervous excitement, joy just at being near each other, alone, it was a good silence. 

It wasn't long before they reached the clearing with the projector. It wasn't packed but it wasn't empty either: Haseul breathed a sigh of relief; either way would have been a bit awkward. Haseul pulled up to the snack and ticket counter and whipped out all her tip money. She was more than ready to treat Vivi and herself to a feast. 

After paying Haseul piled everything into the car: the tickets, large sodas, hot dogs, popcorn, and bars of candy. Haseul just hoped Vivi had a sweet tooth. 

When she turned back Vivi was looking at her with surprise. "This is so much-" 

"I-is it too much? We don't have to eat it all-" 

"No! Not like that. Let me just-" Vivi paused to reach into her purse, pulling out a wallet. 

"No!" Haseul cried back. Vivi froze. "My treat. I insist." 

Vivi's surprise turned into a pout on her lips and a smile in her eyes. "Come on...." 

"Nope!" Haseul grinned and turned back to the window, driving forward to grab the perfect moving watching spot. 

Vivi sighed gently. "You're too sweet." 

"It's my treat...wait, that rhymed...." 

Both girls shared a laugh as Haseul finally parked, not hesitating to start digging into her popcorn before the film started. Vivi grabbed some from her own bucket. 

"Well, thank you Haseul." 

Haseul looked at Vivi and breathed in the way she said her name. "Thank you for coming with me." 

"No, thank you again. For inviting me. I...I've been wanting this for a while." 

Haseul was, luckily, saved from formulating a thought and response when the projector screen finally lit up. 

"Oh! What's the movie?" Vivi asked. 

"I think it's called Beach Party. Just some cheesy 50's movie, I guess. Do you mind? Does that sound fun?" 

Vivi giggled. "Of course it does. I like cheesy 50's movies. And anyways, that's not really the point of a drive in, really. It's more about the..." 

"Experience," Haseul finished. 

"Exactly." 

Both girls turned their attention to the movie and, munching on their snacks, got absorbed in. Haseul had always enjoyed watching movies and it seemed like Vivi did as well, even if the plot wasn't amazing. 

But mid way through the film, something changed. The warmth of the snacks, long since devoured (by both of them), was gone. But Haseul felt a warmth near her fingers, getting closer and closer. 

It was Vivi's hand, delicate and soft, hesitantly clasping Haseul's. 

Haseul _froze._ Staring at the movie but not watching, she could only think. 

Vivi was holding her hand. Vivi reached across the cupholders and gently held Haseul's hand in her own. Vivi did that. She initiated it. Hand holding. 

Well...Haseul couldn't deny it was a real, true, full on date any longer. 

And she gripped Vivi's hand right back. 

Out of the corner of her eye she could see Vivi's lips turn up in the smallest of smiles but otherwise, things were calm. Normal. Like this _wasn't_ crazy. 

And, well, Haseul could get behind that. 

~~~~~~~~~~

The giddiness in Vivi's voice was palpable when the movie finished and Haseul drove them both home. Was it the film? The drive in environment? Or was it Haseul's hand, holding her own?

Haseul knew _something_ had changed tonight, because she could finally believe maybe she was the reason for Vivi's happiness, at least partially. 

But her heart began to sink as she took in the cool night air, the familiar houses passing along the street, the little sigh that escaped Vivi's lips. It was over; the night was over. This magical night, with Vivi's pretty face and pretty self beside her in the car and her pretty hand holding Haseul's. It was like once Vivi got out of that car it would be over, truly over, and Haseul couldn't get that magic back again. 

Dutifully, though, she pulled up in front of Vivi's home. 

"Thank you," Vivi spoke gently, "For everything." 

"You too," Haseul managed to answer with a sad chuckle. 

But Vivi made no attempt to leave, and Haseul made no attempt to help her. 

"G-goodbye, I guess." 

"Y-yeah." 

Again, both girls were still. But suddenly impulse pushed through anxiety and Haseul was speaking. 

"I don't want you to go," she breathed out, rushed, like it was all one word. 

To her relief, Vivi's expression bloomed into a smile. 

"Me either." 

~~~~~~~~~~

And so the two girls remained, two and a half hours later, at two am, sitting in Haseul's car, talking about everything and nothing. 

They were turned to face each other, the filthy cupholders the only thing between them, and they smiled: it was like a dam had broken. The comfortable silence gave wa to comfortable, incessant talk; they couldn't shut up. 

"So it's like...." Vivi sighed. "I've never...I've never had change, right? My life has been steady, forever. I've always lived in the same town, a town that hasn't changed since the 70's, I've always had my lifeguard job as long as it was legal, I've always had the same friends, the same classmates....but it's inevitable. I _chose_ change by choosing a college so far from home. And I'll have to face that change this fall. I thought it was what I wanted when I was applying for schools but...I don't know, Haseul. I don't know if I'm ready." 

"Your biggest fear is losing yourself? Out there in that far away school?" Haseul asked. 

Vivi nodded. "Yeah. I'm afraid of losing me...the Egret Cove in me. It's in all of us who grew up here, you know." 

"But maybe...maybe, being somewhere new will help you find yourself. You know, separate you from the outside factors that you think make you who you are." 

"That...I've never thought about that way, you know? But maybe you're right. You're change, and you're one of the best things to happen to this town." 

Haseul flushed, and Vivi cleared her throat.

"Your turn. Biggest fear."

"Me? Alright," Haseul said, looking at her lap. "Honestly....I feel like my biggest fear is something that's already happened." 

"And that is?" Vivi asked. 

"Being utterly alone." Vivi tilted her head, and Haseul continued. "I...When I was in middle school I got bullied, really really badly." 

"Oh my god..." Vivi breathed out. 

"Yeah. It was....Vivi, it destroyed me. Really. Back then...I was utterly alone. I had nobody. I just...it felt like nobody loved me. Sometimes...sometimes it's hard to not feel that way still, even when deep in my heart, I know things have changed." 

"Haseul." 

Haseul could hear the emotion in her voice and her heart thumped so loud it reverberated through the car. 

"Haseul, god. You're loved. I promise you from the bottom of my heart that you are loved, and you deserve love, and you always have. Back then you deserved infinite love and you do now. God, I-" 

Haseul swallowed and looked away and reached for Vivi's hand and Vivi took it, her grip strong and stabilizing. Haseul mind spun. It was crazy to think her silly little struggles affected Vivi this much, the beautiful seventeen year old showing more emotion than Haseul had ever seen from her. 

They fell quiet, breathing loud. Their hands were like each other's guides to calmness, normalcy. Haseul took in Vivi's words. The beating of their hearts calmed and they managed a glance at each other, not knowing what to say for the first time in three hours. Not saying anything. 

"Wait-" Haseul interrupted their thoughts, her eyes finally turning to car clock. Vivi followed her gaze and groaned. For the moment, the intensity was broken.

"My parents are probably worried sick." 

"And Yeojin might be too. Maybe." 

Vivi giggled at that before the smile faded into pretty curiosity, looking over Haseul.

"I guess this is goodbye. For real this time." 

"Yeah." Haseul chuckled. "But I'll see you soon, right?" 

"Please." 

Haseul noticed at that very moment that the girls were leaning in, getting closer with every second, and there was an indecipherable look in Vivi's eyes and _oh my god were they about to kiss?_

Vivi's eyes fluttered and for the first time that night, panic won the race against courage. Haseul hopped out of the car as quick as her legs would allow and went around to Vivi's side, opening the door for her. 

"This was fun! Let's do it again sometime, right?" 

"Right," Vivi answered, returning Haseul's cheer with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. Was Vivi disappointed? Did Vivi _want_ a kiss? That was one step further than Haseul's mind could allow. The tension was broken though; no chance of a kiss tonight. 

Vivi waved and walked to her door, Haseul watching and standing outside, watching all the way until Vivi stepped inside and shut the door. Finally, she got back into her car. 

All she could do was cling to the victories of that night. Not the kiss that might have been. 


	19. Chapter 19

As Haseul stepped inside Allison's 24 hour, she could only hope that it was a slow day: she had a _lot_ to tell Heejin and Hyunjin. 

She had told her coworkers about the date a couple hours before her and Vivi went out but she wasn't capable of responding once she got home. Yes, Heejin and Hyunjin had absolutely _spammed_ her with texts once it hit about midnight (them having assumed their date had ended). Luckily Haseul had silenced her phone before the date. And after, she had been in way too much of a daze to formulate any words, let alone a coherent text about the date to her friends. She had continued to be spammed by Heejin and Hyunjin once morning came, but she wanted to wait to tell the juicyness of it. Anyways, she was a bit more stable now, but she wasn't sure if she could really write a text. 

Haseul breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped into the restaurant, seeing it practically empty: she could simply gossip about her date on the clock. But her relaxation was over when Heejin and Hyunjin, spotting her, immediately rushed over. 

"What happened?" Hyunjin cried. 

"How did it go how did it go?" Heejin followed. 

"Wait, wait!" Haseul interrupted. "Let me get ready first, gosh." 

"Hurry up though," Hyunjin whined as Haseul chuckled and went to the back. 

Allison walked past her as Haseul was tying on her apron, a small little smile on her lips: proud, happy. She knew. Did Heejin and Hyunjin tell her? How did she know about the date? Haseul just knew that she knew. 

"You'll get there soon. Don't worry," Allison spoke, eyeing Haseul up and down. 

"Wait, what?" 

Allison just smirked and went into her office. Haseul sighed. Allison was as odd (and wonderful) as ever. 

Haseul pulled her phone out of her bag as she stuffed it into the cubby, sparing one brief glance at her phone before clocking in. It was a message from Vivi. Before reading it, Haseul looked over their messages from the previous night (or the early morning; technically it was still the same day since the end of their date). 

_thank you,_ Vivi had typed about five minutes after she went home. _for everything_

 _no u!!!!!!_ Haseul replied. 

_no seriously, it was my pleasure._

_i had the best time ever._

Vivi had answered quickly, Haseul remembered, unable to get a wink of sleep, excitement burning in her belly, awake in her bed at four in the morning. _me too, really, we have to do it again! my treat this time_

_ahhhhhh i cant wait!_

Haseul stayed awake long after to see if Vivi would answer, but clearly she'd just passed out. But Haseul finally reached the bottom of their chat, seeing Vivi's text from just a few minutes before. 

_good morning!_ _i hope youre not as tired as i am_

Haseul grinned from ear to ear. _sorry im sure im j as tired as u lol_

_ughhh but i have work rn ew but hopefully it'll be slow!!_

_i dont wanna go!!!_

Haseul locked her phone to put it away, but Vivi answered right away. 

_nooo go work! get that bread!_

Really, she just wanted to set down and text Vivi for the next couple hours but she didn't want to get Allison mad (or Heejin and Hyunjin, who were clearly waiting to hear Vivi's story). So, she just reacted to Vivi's message and stuffed her phone back in her bag, clocking in and heading into the main restaurant hall. 

As soon as she walked in Heejin and Hyunjin tugged her behind the counter, leaning over the front of it. Heejin had a broom in her hands and Hyunjin had a rag, just in case a customer came in, but neither tool was in action now, and their eyes were on her. 

"You. Vivi. Everything. Now," Hyunjin said. 

Haseul giggled, the memories of the previous night bringing a smile to her face. "Okay, so. I asked her out the day before yesterday. I kinda tried to seem like...maybe it was a friend date but then I totally messed that up-" 

"Which was probably for the best," Hyunjin interrupted. 

"Yes, true, so anyways. I kinda looked for something good to do so I decided to take her to a drive in movie-" 

"Oh my god!" Heejin and Hyunjin squealed simoultaneously. 

Haseul smiled. "Yeah, that was actually a pretty good idea. Did you guys know there was one of those around here?" 

"Yeah. It's so romantic," Heejin answered. 

"It's the ideal make out spot," Hyunjin added. 

"Well...anyways, we went there. There was just some corny 50's movie playing but it was...it was so fun. Just..." Haseul flushed. "With Vivi." 

Heejin and Hyunjin cooed, and Haseul cleared her throat. 

"So...we watched the movie." 

"Please tell me you bought the tickets," Hyunjin spoke. 

"I did," Haseul proudly answered. "And a shit ton of snacks." 

"Yes!" Heejin cheered, and Haseul continued. 

"And then....partway through the movie...she held my hand!" 

At that, Heejin and Hyunjin squealed so loud the one guy in the corner of the restaurant turned to look at them. The girls scooted inward, embarrassed. 

"I held it back, too. Oh my god, I must sound so ridiculous right now." 

"You do not," Hyunjin said firmly. 

"Do you know how much progress this is? Like three days ago you told us you could barely even think about going on a date with her!" Heejin proudly continued. 

"Yeah...it really is. That was when I realized it was a real date and not just like, a half date." 

"Wait, only _then_ you realized it was a date?" Hyunjin asked. 

"Okay, okay, looking back on it that sounds kinda stupid but I really thought that! Anyways..." 

"Ugh, and then the movie ended..." Heejin groaned. 

"It did, it did. But there's a reason I never messaged you back last night..." 

"Ooh?" Both girls said, leaning in even closer. 

"So the movie ended, and I drove us back home. We live like, right next door to each other though, so I was basically home when I pulled up in front of her house. But...even when I got there, of course I didn't really want her to leave, but she didn't really want to leave either...so we just...stayed." 

"Oh my god!" Heejin cried. 

"Oh my god..." Hyunjin mumbled. 

"We stayed in the car for like, three hours, just talking. The entire time. And we talked about...like...our _feelings._ Our deepest fears and everything." 

"Oh my god," Heejin and Hyunjin whispered. 

"And then..." 

"You kissed?" Hyunjin asked. 

Haseul's face fell. "Well...no. Once we noticed it was super late we both went home." 

"Did you guys want to kiss?" Heejin asked.

"I mean, I did. Of course I did. I didn't do anything about it but, you know, I have the world's biggest crush on her, I always want to kiss her." 

Hyunjin hummed. "But did she want to kiss you?" 

"Um...I think? Maybe? We were quiet and then we looked at each other for a long time and then she....maybe she started to lean in? I don't know...maybe." 

Heejin and Hyunjin shared a look. "Haseul...if you even sort of think she wanted to kiss you...then she definitely wanted to kiss you." 

Haseul groaned loudly. 

Heejin spoke up. "Is there a reason you didn't?" 

"I....I guess I just chickened out. I got nervous, I dunno." 

Hyunjin pouted a little but Heejin rubbed her shoulder. "Don't be too sad. Maybe you just weren't ready." 

"I was ready though," Haseul whined. "I've been ready since I first laid eyes on her." 

"Don't be too sad. Come on, this date was a complete success. And it's not like you'll never get the opportunity again," Hyunjin said. 

"Really?" 

Hyunjin nodded. "Yeah. Come on. Even if you didn't go for the kiss it sounds like she still had a good time. Did either of you text after the date?" 

"We did! We texted after we got home and she even sent me a good morning text!" 

"Then you're in the clear. She definitely had fun and I'm sure she'd want to kiss you, if given the opportunity," Heejin explained. 

"But she might not make the first move again," Hyunjin added. 

Haseul pouted for a moment. Heejin and Hyunjin had clearly been right about Vivi: she went on a date with her, she probably liked her (at least a little) and maybe, most likely, she wanted to kiss her. But now, it was on her. Haseul got it: if she made a move and she'd been rejected, she would never have made the move again. Haseul, though, wasn't sure if she could do it. There was a chance, though. Knowing that Vivi probably liked her was a helpful step. 

So, she picked her head up. The date had been wonderful, it was pretty much agreed. They hadn't kissed, Haseul had missed out on that one, but she there was still a chance she could. 

"It was a great date though," Haseul finally spoke. 

"It was!" Heejin cheered, and both girls hugged her. 

"Definitely a success. And a good date too, period," Hyunjin added. Haseul hugged them back tightly, smiling to herself. Discussing this with her friends felt so, so good; talking about her and Vivi brought all those warm and fuzzy feelings back into her chest, and of course it felt nice to brag, for once (instead of complaining about how Vivi would never like her back). 

But just then, their hug circle was broken. 

"You guys are getting paid for this?" Yeojin's scratchy little voice spoke loudly, reverberating through the restaurant. 

Heejin and Hyunjin immediately let Haseul go. "Yeojin!" they cried, rushing to hug the ten year old tightly. 

"Yeah, yeah," Yeojin answered, patting both of their backs. "What are you guys even doing? Aren't you working?" 

"There's nobody in here," Hyunjin explained with a shrug. 

"True." 

"Haseul was telling us about her date!" Heejin spoke excitedly, but Haseul immediately panicked. 

"Wait...you went on a date? And didn't tell me?" Yeojin cried. 

"I didn't have time!" Haseul whined. "I'm sorry!" 

"Who was it with?" 

"...Vivi?" 

"You went on a date with _Vivi_ and didn't tell me?" 

"I'm sorry Yeojin!" 

"Ugh. Rude." Yeojin pouted and pulled out a chair, throwing herself onto it and her frog bag on the table. "You better buy me a chocolate milkshake and a plate of chicken nuggets. Maybe then you can tell me everything about your date. And maybe I'll forgive you." 

"I'm on it, Yeojin," Haseul answered, throwing Yeojin a last guilty smile. "And I'm sorry!" 

She ran to the back as Heejin and Hyunjin sat down to comfort Yeojin. Luckily, she ran into Allison in the kitchen. 

"I'm gonna need a plate of chicken nuggest stat." 

Allison chuckled and moved to the freezer to grab the ingredients. "Anything for our Yeojin." 

Haseul made an extra chocolaty chocolate milkshake and topped it with as much whipped cream as she could fit in the cup, going back to the main part of the restaurant and setting it before Yeojin. 

The ten year old eyed it carefully, inspecting the whipped cream and using a spoon on the table to push it away to see the color of the shake itself. 

"Extra chocolaty...extra whipped cream..." she mumbled to herself before looking up at Haseul. "Okay. You're forgiven." 

Haseul grinned and was about to speak, but Yeojin stopped her. "But don't do that ever again." 

"I won't! I promise! Hold on, wait, let me pay." Haseul ran up to the counter and deposited some of her tip money into the register before rushing back. 

"Now tell me _everything._ " Even though they heard it just a few minutes before, Heejin and Hyunjin looked excited to hear the story again, so Haseul rehashed it all for Yeojin. 

Yeojin looked more and more excited with each passing beat of the story, holding back her comments until almost the end. 

"Haseul, I'm proud of you. You may be a simp, but Vivi clearly is too." 

"But wait. Hold your pride for another moment." Hyunjin groaned, and Haseul finished up her story, right through the part where she dodged the kiss. 

"Haseul!" Yeojin cried at the top of her lungs. "I can't believe you didn't go for the kiss!" 

"Don't make me feel worse than I already do." 

Just then, Allison emerged from the kitchen with a plate piled with nuggets. She set it down on their table and Yeojin pulled the plate towards her, wrapping her arms around it. "All mine." 

Allison chuckled and smiled at Yeojin. "How are things going sweetie?" 

"Did you know that Haseul went on a date? With Vivi?" 

Haseul whimpered and put her face in her hands; it was one thing for her employer to somehow magically know she went on a date, it was another for her little cousin to air out her life's details to her. 

"I did." 

"And that Vivi wanted to kiss her but she didn't kiss her back? Because she's a chicken?" 

Allison chuckled. "I heard that too." 

"And did you hear that she forgot to tell me?" 

Allison feigned a gasp. "That I did not." She turned to Haseul. "Shame on you!" 

"I know, I know, I'm sorry! It won't happen again!" 

"It better not," Yeojin answered, eating an entire nugget in one bite. 

"Alright, let me get back to work ladies." Allison looked around the restaurant. "And maybe you girls should too." 

"They can work once I finish my nuggets," Yeojin said. 

Allison turned back and smiled. "I'll take it." 

She headed to the kitchen, and everyone turned back to Haseul. 

"I can't believe you didn't kisser," Yeojin spoke with her mouth full of nuggets. "You better try again." 

"I will," Haseul answered. "I will." 


	20. Chapter 20

"Ugh...but I'm scared!" Haseul whined. 

"Oh my god, come on. Let's go!" Yeojin whined back, tugging on Haseul's arm. 

It was another day off for Haseul, and in just about any other circumstance she'd be going to the beach. And she would be excited to do so. But if everything that was going on, Haseul was beyond nervous. 

Her and Vivi, of course, had text non stop since their date a few days before. It felt comfortable, finally, both of them eagerly answering the other. Haseul, though, wasn't quite ready to see her. 

She was disappointed. She was disappointed that she hadn't kissed Vivi, and god she couldn't stop ruminating over it, constantly. Heejin and Hyunjin and Yeojin had complained at first, yeah, now they were understanding of Haseul. But she knew they were disappointed. 

And she knew Vivi was disappointed. Haseul couldn't imagine being in her shoes; she would have been utterly crushed and never gone after her again. She was amazed Vivi even wanted to keep on talking to her after enduring what she probably thought was a rejection. Haseul...Haseul had been pretty obvious about her feelings, this entire time, even if she had tried not to be. But now, did Vivi think Haseul didn't like her? Vivi might not be so sure, despite how desperate Haseul has seemed. 

And now, who knows? Maybe she would kiss her again. But maybe she could not have the courage again, and that opportunity would have passed her by. So mostly, she was disappointed in herself.

So...yeah. She was nervous to talk to Vivi again. She would have to face the girl, face the disappointment of everyone, and somehow muscle past it and just _hope_ Vivi was still interest in this, in her. That she felt confident enough to continue. 

But it's not like she could avoid Vivi forever. It's not like, deep inside, she wanted to either. 

"Fine," Haseul groaned, letting Yeojin pull her standing. 

Yeojin stared up at her and crossed her arms. "Don't be a wimp. She likes you." 

Haseul sighed and rolled her eyes but smiled and after calling to their grandmother that they were leaving, followed Yeojin out of the door. 

Treading along the road to the beach they were silent. Haseul gripped their faded blue towels in her hand and watched them sway, swatting her legs, fluttering just above the floor. Yeojin tightened her grip on her frog backpack, sparing a quick glance at her cousin. 

"Don't give up just yet. You've come so far!" 

Haseul chuckled lowly to herself. "I won't, Yeojin. I won't."

The girls reached the path to the beach and with a smile, went down it. Breathing in the salty sea air so closely, a smile came onto Haseul's lips. It had been a minute since she came to the beach and god did it feel good, stepping out into the sand. And it was soothing on the eyes, of course. Relief washed over Haseul like the waves washed over the sand. 

And suddenly, there was Vivi. She was still in her red lifeguard swimsuit and ponytail, strands fallen out from a day of work. Haseul was overwhelmed, frankly. 

"Hi," Vivi said, and then Haseul remembered the reason why she was scared. 

But she, too, recognized that their date wasn't meaningless. The smile that was on Vivi's lips was easy, and Haseul smiled too, easily. 

"Hey Vivi." There wasn't a moment of stutter in her voice. Despite everything. 

"Earth to Vivi and Haseul! Someone else is here ya know," Yeojin called up to them. 

"Ah, we could never forget you!" Vivi cried, giving Yeojin a smile. 

"You better not." She took her backpack off and shook it. "I have all the snacks." 

Everyone giggled and went further onto the beach, setting up their spot to sit for the afternoon. Haseul put out the sheet and the towels, Yeojin set down her magazines and the snacks, and Vivi leaned over, looking at everything. 

"How was work?" Haseul asked. 

"Good! It was good. Not that busy, I mean, as usual. So it was a bit boring. But, I had this to look forward to." 

Slowly, Haseul smiled. Vivi was looking forward to this? What an absolute relief. 

"I was looking forward to this too." 

The girls smiled at each other and Yeojin made a barfing gesture. 

"Really?"

Vivi giggled, a little bit embarrassed but a little more proud, and Haseul rolled her eyes at her cousin. 

"Come on. You two are too obvious. Now go get into the water so I can concentrate on my reading." At that, Yeojin whipped out her American Girl magazine, orange heart shaped sunglasses, and leaned on her backpack to read. 

"Yeojin's probably right-" 

"Of course I am. I always am," Yeojin interrupted, not bothering to look up. 

"Anyways," Vivi continued with a grin, "wanna continue those lessons?" 

Haseul shrugged. "Why not?" 

So Vivi leapt up and ran to the water, still in her lifeguard uniform and after carelessly tossing her clothes aside (swimsuit underneath of course), she followed after Vivi. 

~~~~~~~~~

Haseul wasn't doing _too_ awful at swimming that day. 

She had managed to do, at least partially, everything Vivi had instructed for her. But, her mind was elsewhere. 

Haseul bounced between joy and sorrow, excitement and disappointment. She was still sad about this kiss thing, but she was excited because oh my gosh it seemed like there was another chance for them to kiss, but was Vivi disappointed? She didn't seem like it, amazingly, and Haseul just couldn't stop thinking about them having another date. Another one of those? Amazing! So, so fun like the first but with even less of the awkwardness and maybe even more of the romance. Would Haseul have the courage to ask Vivi out again? _Could_ Haseul have the courage to ask Vivi out again? Maybe! 

Vivi had asked to see if Haseul could try to tread water for five whole minutes. But after about two and a half, getting distracted by Vivi focusing so hard on her, looking at _only_ her, thinking about all the thoughts in her mind, she just...stopped. And sunk under the water.

"Ugh, sorry," Haseul whined, pushing back strands of her wet hair as she bobbed back up. 

"No, no! You're good. You're doing good today. You just seem...a little distracted." 

Mindlessly, Haseul's eyes looked up and down Vivi's gorgeous body, half hidden by the water. _Fuck_ was she pretty. So pretty. "I am." 

Immediately, Vivi flushed _deep_ and Haseul knew she'd noticed her eyes. "Ah- I-" Haseul stuttered. She really hadn't meant it like that, it had been a total accident, she couldn't help but look when Vivi was just so fucking pretty she didn't mean it like that! "I-I'm sorry! Oh my god, Vivi, I didn't- I-" God, now Haseul was blushing too. As if she didn't do that enough already. 

Vivi bit her lip shyly, looking down into the water, and started to giggle. And suddenly she had closed the space between Haseul and her, wrapping her in a light hug. Vivi's arms were wet thrown over Haseul's shoulders and it was gross and kinda icky but it was also _not_ , Haseul could feel her warmth beneath the cool of the water and could tell she had a smile on her lips. 

"It's okay," she mumbled right into Haseul's ear. "I like it when you flirt with me." 

Vivi pulled away and now it was Haseul's turn to be flustered, as if she totally wasn't already, blubbering like a fish while Vivi just giggled at her. It wasn't awkward, though, and soon enough Haseul couldn't help but giggle too. 

"Now I'm really going to be distracted!" She whined. 

"Come on," Vivi answered, tugging Haseul's wrist a little into the deeper parts of the water. "Let's practice your butterfly." 

~~~~~~~~~~

"Get out guys come on!" Yeojin yelled again from the shore. 

"Coming, coming!" Haseul shouted back and with a sigh, Vivi and herself got out of the water, running over to the ten year old. "What?" 

"I'm ready to go home and play minecraft." 

"Ah," Vivi hummed to herself, looking at Haseul. Haseul was pretty tired herself; she'd swam pretty hard that day and was ready to chill out. But she didn't want to be parted from Vivi just yet. "Wanna drop off Yeojin at your house and then take a little walk?" 

_Thank god. Vivi, her savior._ "That sounds wonderful." 

Yeojin huffed. "God, if I'd known you two were gonna be this bad-" 

"Aw, come on," Haseul whined back, starting to pack up the stuff. The two girls followed her lead and once Haseul threw her t-shirt on over her swimsuit (in Egret Cove it's perfectly acceptable to walk around in just flip flops, a swimsuit, and an oversized tee), the girls were ready. 

It was a quick enough walk back to Haseul and Yeojin's, the perfect amount of time for Yeojin to explain what poggers meant (although Haseul still didn't quite get it). They let her in and Yeojin quickly slammed the door behind them, running inside to the computer (Vivi and Haseul could hear her feet thumping on the floor). 

"What should we do?" Haseul asked. 

"There's that ice cream shop by the tourist beach. That's not too far. Wanna grab some with me?" 

"Sounds great." 

The girls were a few steps from Haseul's house when Vivi turned to her. 

"I still don't really understand what poggers means." 

Haseul laughed loudly. "Me either." 

"Are we really old enough now to not understand all the slang terms? I thought we at least had a couple more years..." 

"I guess we don't." 

The girls shared a giggle and fell into the easiest of conversation. The hot sun beat down on their heads and though they'd been swimming in the ocean moments before they were dry and warm now, comfortably so. Vivi, with a soft sigh of relief, let her hair out of her ponytail. The creamsicle locks fell into those strands you get when you don't wash your hair properly after going in the water, but Haseul's hair did the same thing (and anyways, even that was pretty on Vivi, somehow). She wore what looked like her dad's old brown button up over her lifeguard uniform and her baby pink flip flops slapped the ground in time with Haseul's. For a moment, Haseul's heart _ached_ with how bad she wished things could be like this always. But Haseul was leaving after the summer, and well, Vivi was too. She couldn't get this back again. 

She just had to make the most of these hours that were in her possession. 

It didn't take long for them to reach the ice cream shop, a little stand that sold simple burgers and sodas too. The line was long; it was a hot day and they were by the tourist beach, so there were many out of towners. But Haseul didn't mind the wait at all when it gave her a little more time with Vivi. 

Vivi got chocolate and Haseul got rocky road and Vivi practically _shoved_ Haseul out of the way to pay, immediately showering her with panicked apologies. But god Haseul was so fucking whipped that she was just grateful Vivi had touched her at all. 

It was silent for minutes when they got their ice cream, the taste tenfold on their tongues under the hot air and the swimming sleepiness. With a nod the girls began to head home, and it was only when Haseul started biting into the cone when Vivi spoke. 

"Can I ask you something?" 

Haseul's stomach immediately began to burn with nerves, the butterflies in her stomach up in a blaze, but she nodded coolly anyways. 

"I...um...when we went on our date the other day, right at the end there....I tried to kiss you? But you kinda dodged it...so, ugh." Vivi paused, clearly very embarrassed, refusing to look anyways but at the ground where her ice cream dripped in a little trail behind her. "I-I thought you liked me..." 

Haseul took a deep breath. Then two, then three. 

She was _not_ expecting to be confronted about this. 

But you know what...at least it would be out in the open. At least she wouldn't have to dwell any more. At least they could work this out. 

Haseul was starting to realize that way was _far_ better than keeping all your worries all bottled up inside. 

"I...I got nervous. That's just the truth. Vivi...I, I've told you about my experiences, my insecurities. The truth is, it's hard for me to imagine anyone liking me. And I've never had....anything, before. Anything romantic I mean. So I got nervous, but..." Haseul's voice dropped to barely above a whisper. "It doesn't mean I don't like you. Or that I don't want to kiss you. I do." 

Vivi looked up so suddenly that Haseul had to look back, and Vivi smiled so _bright_ she could feel her heart go flip, flop, flip, flop. 

She breathed a massive sigh of relief. "Oh my god...I..." Vivi breathed out again. "I'm so happy to hear that. Because, I, I like you too. I promise." 

Haseul's jaw dropped, and she was frozen. Her thoughts stopped, and suddenly everything was happening at once; Vivi reached over and grabbed Haseul's hand. 

A moment's pause, a delayed reaction, and then, Haseul was holding Vivi's hand back. Her delicate fingers were just the slightest bit sticky from the ice cream but Haseul could not find it within herself to care, not at all. She couldn't really care about much of anything, except the fact that they were already in front of her house. Like time had moved without her. 

Vivi led her up to her front door, hands still entertwined, fingers laced together, and looked her in the eyes. 

"Whenever you're ready for that kiss, tell me. I'm ready. I won't spring it on you again." She paused a second and looked at Haseul's scrappy front lawn. "You can spring it on me though." 

Haseul couldn't do much more than smile and nod. 

Slowly, Vivi let go of Haseul's hand and waved at her. Haseul nodded, again. She waited for Vivi to cross the street, head into her house, and shut the door behind her. 

And as soon as she had Haseul ran inside herself, jumping onto her bed and screaming into her pillowcase, a smile etched on her lips for the rest of the night. 


	21. Chapter 21

As soon as Haseul clocked in for work and entered the main hall of the restaurant, she was cornered by Heejin and Hyunjin. 

"Did you see Vivi yesterday?" Hyunjin asked. 

"Can I not even get a good morning? How are you? Did you have a nice day off?" 

"Finding out if you saw Vivi will answer all of those questions for us." 

Haseul rolled her eyes but smiled secretly; she did kinda want to brag about yesterday. 

"So...Yeojin and I went to the beach-" 

"Ooo!" Heejin said, high pitched. 

"And Vivi was there-" 

"Ah?" 

"And then we walked Vivi home and got ice cream together-" 

"Oh?" Now Hyunjin joined in. 

"And then...then she confronted me about the kiss so I just, like, had to do _something_ so I told her how I felt, and...she said she feels the same way." 

"Eeeee!" Heejin screamed immediately, loud enough for the other customers to stare. Both girls gave her the biggest of hugs and Hyunjin pulled away with a smirk, her arms crossed. 

"Say it." 

"What?" 

"Say it." 

"Say what?" 

"That we were right. About Vivi liking you back." 

Haseul gave the most dramatic sigh possible. "Fine! You guys were right." 

"And Yeojin!" Heejin added. 

"And Yeojin. You guys were right the whole time." 

"Told you so," Hyunjin mumbled. 

"It's not like I wanted to be right!" Haseul cried. 

"Wait, was that all?" Heejin asked. 

"Kinda?" Heejin and Hyunjin immediately leaned in closer. "Well...she told me...she was cool with waiting until I was ready to kiss her. But she still wanted to, really a lot, but she'd wait for my signal." 

"Ugh, why is she so cool?" Heejin interrupted. 

"Oh! And we held hands," Haseul said proudly. 

"Ugh," Hyunjin groaned, very loudly and for a very long time. "Finally. It only took you two like, what. A month and a half? Two months?" 

"Come on, this is real progress. I know we were both a little worried nothing would ever happen," Heejin answered. 

"And I really _believed_ nothing would ever happen. She's just...I am so lucky." 

"And so is she," Hyunjin said quietly. 

Haseul paused. "R-really?" 

Heejin laughed. "Duh. You two are absolute angels. She's perfect for you." 

"Two pretty, smart, kinda shy but really nice gay girls. Literally the dream," Hyunjin added. 

"Vivi?" Heejin fucking squeaked suddenly, pulling Haseul out of her words and turning towards the door. 

"H-Hi," the girl in question answered back, quiet and a little flushed (definitely from Hyunjin and Heejin _staring_ at her with a look in their eyes). 

"Go! Go get your girl!" Hyunjin whispered encouragingly in her ear. Haseul took a deep breath, in and out, and followed her advice. 

She walked over to the doorway and gave Vivi her most confident smile. "It's good to see you again." 

Vivi looked quickly down at the floor. "Me too. I...I couldn't wait." 

Now it was Haseul's turn to flush, stutters prepared to leave her lips, but she was ready to fight that awkward urge in any way she could. "Go take a seat. I'll be back in ten." 

"What?" 

"Trust me, okay?" 

Vivi paused for just a second. "Always." 

Haseul gave her a last nod and practically skipped away, confidence rushing through her veins like a drug. It was almost weird to be like this, but there was no way Haseul was going to let it go to waste. 

Surreptitiously she slipped some cash into the machine, giving Vivi the quickest of glances. She somehow got more and more pretty every time she saw her: wearing shorts and an oversized men's blue button up (clearly a dress shirt of her father's), tendrils of her peachy poppy hair framing her face, and a god damn _beret_. 

"Yeah. I get it," Heejin mumbled quietly to Haseul. Caught staring she looked away quickly, but then rushed on as she continued her task. 

"I'm gonna need the biggest basket of fries you can make, stat," Haseul said to Allison as she stepped into the back. 

Allison just answered with a _look_ , the sort of _look_ that meant she knew Vivi was in the restaurant. But she smiled too and went to go grab the sliced potatoes. Meanwhile Haseul got to work on the milkshake, putting more effort into it than probably most other things she had ever done in her entire life. And soon enough, it was all ready. 

She emerged from the kitchen carrying the shake and fries, setting them down on the table and sliding into the seat across from Vivi. She looked up at Haseul with the cutest and most surprised look that made Haseul's heart just feel squishy. 

"Oh my god! How much do I owe you?" 

"Not a dime," Haseul answered, shaking out some ketchup and stealing a fry. Vivi giggled and took a sip of her shake. 

"Thank you." 

"My pleasure." 

Haseul _swore_ she heard Heejin and Hyunjin cooing at them at the other side of the restaurant, but she would dutifully ignore it. Somehow, she had confidence! She was sure of herself! And _nothing_ would get in the way of that. 

Even her most wild cheesy fantasies would come true today, as long as Vivi would allow her to. 

"Can I do something absolutely ridiculous?"

Vivi gave her a small, curious, mischevious smile. "Do it." 

So Haseul picked up a fry, coated the end in ketchup, and held it in front of Vivi's mouth. She immediately burst out laughing. Haseul giggled along but still held the fry, watching with her heart floating as Vivi threw her head back in laughter. And yet, when she calmed down, she still took a bite. Haseul's heart _fluttered_ and she could still hear the coos from across the room (although quieter now; only Heejin was awwing over them now. Hyunjin just gagged). Things were more than okay. Things were going to be so much more than okay. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Haseul felt like she had been watching the clock for _hours_ when it finally hit time over for her shift. 

"Thank god!" She groaned, throwing Vivi a big grin. She had moved from her seat across from Vivi to standing, wiping down tables and chairs around her to at least _seem_ like she was working. 

"Finally!" Vivi answered, leaping up and walking over to her. 

"Wait, wait, I gotta clock out and everything!" 

Vivi made a pouty noise and flopped back down into the seat. "Be fast." 

"Will do!" 

A smile on her lips, Haseul practically skipped to the back. It was just so _lovely_ to be so comfortable with Vivi, for them to banter easily and flirt. 

And clearly Heejin and Hyunjin noticed, because once she reached the clock out machine the couple were both giving her that look. 

"You two are so..." Hyunjin said and wiggled her eyebrows.

"Cute!" Heejin finished. 

Haseul blushed a little and finished clocking out, gathering her things as Heejin and Hyunjin got ready to leave too. 

"Thanks guys..." 

"Are you two going out on a date now?" Hyunjin asked. 

"I was honestly just going to walk her home but..." 

"Do it! Do it!" Heejin cheered. 

Haseul giggled. "Alright, alright. Now I gotta go! Vivi's waiting for me!" 

Heejin and Hyunjin made teasing noises at Haseul but she just smiled, going back to the front. 

"Ready?" Vivi asked, grabbing Haseul's hand subconsciously. Haseul froze for a moment; clearly this was a thing they did now, but Haseul was still not quite used to it. It was a good kind of surprise though, filling her heart with butterflies, but she managed to find the courage to squeeze Vivi's hand back after a short pause. 

"Yup. Let's go." 

The girls walked out the restaurant and down the middle of the empty street, swinging their arms. Their chatting came so nicely, so easily. Haseul just felt more and more like Vivi was her safety. 

And slowly but surely, Haseul was starting to see it in Vivi too. How Vivi looked at her, noticed her, waited for her. Heejin and Hyunjin and Yeojin's ideas did not seem so ridiculous anymore. She could believe Vivi liked her. She _did_ believe Vivi liked her. And it was just as amazing as Haseul had hoped it would be. 

Haseul squeezed Vivi's hand and Vivi looked at her with a bright grin. 

"What is it?" 

"I like this. I feel so happy." 

Vivi laughed quietly at that and rested her head for a moment on Haseul's shoulder. 

"Me too." 

The girls locked gazes from the corners of their eyes and shared another laugh. It was all just so _warm_ and _safe_ and _easy_. 

And they started chatting again, about their days and the other girls and stupid things that didn't matter, but it was fine because talking about the silly things in life or the deep stuff, it was all okay. 

But inside, Haseul was trembling. It felt like something was building up inside of her, something she was unused to: courage. Vivi was here, sweet and soft and beautiful beside her, and she wanted her. Vivi wanted her too, so she had the ultimate freedom to take. 

Haseul was absolutely not let this moment of bravery go to waste; she wanted what she had been wanting ever since their last date: that kiss. But was hard for her to _say_ any of this, fearing losing this momentum she was building. Should she say it? She didn't know if she could. 

But Vivi had said it was okay to spring it on her. Vivi wanted her. Haseul was okay with that. She could do that. 

"V-Vivi," she stuttered despite her confidence. It was more the adrenaline running through her veins that made her stumble on her words, standing still when they were almost at their homes.

"Yeah?" Vivi asked, totally innocent. 

"Come with me." Haseul grabbed Vivi's wrist and, almost running, led her to the big tree by Vivi's yard. She backed Vivi up against the big tree in front of her home, looking at Vivi's curious grin for half a moment before pressing her lips to Vivi's. 

Vivi kissed back instantaneosly. God, fuck, her lips felt like magic and yes this was Haseul first kiss but she couldn't possibly imagine a kiss better than this one. Haseul tilted her head, feeling Vivi's orange hair tickling her cheeks, hoping she was actually good at this but finding herself not caring as much as she normally would. It felt good on her end, at least. It felt right. 

Vivi's slight arms wrapped around her, one hand on the back of her neck and another thrown over Haseul's shoulder, hand on her back, pressing her closer. And as Haseul got more and more comfortable with this she held Vivi back, wrapping both arms around her slim waist, holding her. 

Oh my _god_ it felt so good. 

Haseul kissed her for as long as she could without losing her breath but eventually she had to pull away. 

It was stupidly cheesy but for a moment there she was lost, just utterly lost in Vivi's wide eyes and pretty face. 

But then, the worry came back. 

Vivi said it was okay to spring it on her, right? Was this okay? Was she any good? Did Vivi like it?

"Vivi, was I-" Haseul started. 

But there was no end to her sentence because Vivi's lips were back on hers. 

That told Haseul _everything_ she needed to know. That Vivi liked this and that even if Haseul wasn't so good she wanted to keep it going. 

And so they kissed, against that tree, holding onto each other and this moment. 

Vivi slowly pulled away. "Finally," she breathed out. 

Haseul giggled and it was embarrassing but she couldn't stop _smiling_. 

"Finally," she repeated. 

Vivi tilted her head, looking at Haseul. It was obvious neither of them wanted this moment to end. "Do you wanna...just go to the beach with me now?" 

Slowly, Haseul smiled. "I'd love to." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> P L E A S E R E A D 
> 
> First of all sorry for the incredibly long wait. Things have been rough for me these days but I promise promise promise I will not be abandoning this fic. 
> 
> Secondly...
> 
> So I've been writing kpop fanfiction for 6 years now (!!!) and recently I got plagiarized for the first time! 
> 
> No, it wasn't this fic that was stolen. It was an nct fic I wrote in 2018 titled Sparks Fly, and it got posted onto wattpad by someone who wasn't me. 
> 
> By the time I realized (a very kind reader notified me but i didnt see it for two days) the plagiarizer had taken all the stolen fics (I wasn't the online one) down and had apologized, luckily. I also think they were very young (~14) so I'm not too salty at them. 
> 
> Honestly, I always wondered if this would ever happen to me. I always thought I'd be flattered that anyone would like my fic enough to steal it. 
> 
> But now that it happened I feel really sad and anxious. What makes it worse is that Sparks Fly is probably in the top 5 stories that I worked the hardest on; it's approximately 90,000 words long (I think about 350 pages printed). I'm not saying this to brag just that...yeah I worked rlly hard on it. 
> 
> So what's the point of all this rambling?
> 
> A. PLEASE DO NOT PLAGIARIZE. Fic authors are literally giving you FREE STORIES, if you like their stories that much please respect the person who wrote it. 
> 
> B. Does anyone know how to prevent plagiarism on ao3? AFF wont let you copy and paste stuff but does ao3 have any protections like that? it would make me feel a lot more comfortable. 
> 
> Sorry for this ramble and if I overreacted especially since they deleted it now and were so young. 
> 
> Anyways, 
> 
> Love, 
> 
> RainbowDonkeys


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